A Masterful Hybrid Film! Part 1

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2007)

First Take: As a long time fan of Fincher's films, especially Se7en, I went to Zodiac with the assumption that it was going to be like his other films. Bad idea. Zodiac is completely different than anything Fincher has previously directed. But make no mistake: Zodiac is a great film. Not only on the crime/police genre, but as a film in general. If you haven't yet seen it. See it. It's that good.
Dark, moody, with the uncanny ability to get under your skin, Zodiac screams Fincher right from the opening scene. Differing in its incredible detailed and studious effort. Going from the creepy, and brutal killing of two teenagers in the beginning and plunging into the cop world of 1960's-'70's it becomes clear that Zodiac is not a straight thriller or suspense film, but an intense police procedural, a dramatic character study of the four men who were most affected by the Zodiac murders, as well as frequent splashes of classic white knuckled Fincher suspense.
I must be honest, at first I thought I didn't like this movie. But now I realize that was only because I made had an expectation in mind before I saw it. One of the most prolific complaints I have heard is Zodiac's running time.
At nearly three hours, the film is not for those who simply wanted to be entertained and their emotions pampered. One of the reasons, the film is so great is that it is almost three hours long, realizing that as with Se7en, Fight Club, and Panic Room, Fincher is a master at making the audience feel what he wants them to feel. One come out of the theater, feeling like a cop, a reporter, and a common civilian who has spent 22 years tracking and chronicling a sadistic monster who has managed to slip through their fingers at every turn.