A Great David Fincher Serial Killer Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2020)

Pros:
1. The directing and framing of shots are incredibly impressive, and they're definitely the best I've seen from a David Fincher (Director) movie.
2. The dark lighting perfectly bathes the film in a brooding and gritty atmosphere.
3. The tension and suspense is masterfully built-up via the lighting, and the intermittent usage of the score mixed in with purposefully dense silences.
4. The score helps to ram home a nerve-wracking feel, which keeps you on edge through the entire experience.
5. The costume design is fantastic, and mirrors the time period, irrespective of whether it be the '60s, '70s, and even the short snippets of the '80s, and '90s.
6. The comedy is appropriately used sporadically, but is genuinely funny and it prevents the movie from becoming too depressive and heavy.
7. The inquiry scene between Bob Vaughn (Charles Fleischer) and Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) is utterly captivating, and is one of the most nervy scenes in cinema that I have ever seen.
8. The flashing up of times and dates gives the film a strict structure, which is desperately needed due to the substance of the plot.
9. Charles Fleischer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo (Inspector David Toschi), and Robert Downey Jr. (Paul Avery) all deliver brilliant performances.
Cons:
1. During the middle of the movie, the pacing slows down a little, especially as the Zodiac Killer becomes a secondary character.
2. Robert Graysmith has weak motivations for pursuing the identity of the Zodiac Killer, and when asked about his motivations, he just spurts out empty words, like: 'I just have to know who he is.'