Zero Dark Thirty

Ask if I liked The Hurt Locker. Go on, do it. I dare you.

I didn't like it. Boom. Come at me bro.

And now we have Zero Dark Thirty which is essentially being touted as The Hurt Locker with Bin Laden. I would agree. And for me that is a bad thing. Because I think Kathryn Bigelow is a very overrated director and her win for The Hurt Locker blew me away. Zero Dark Thirty has the same kind of buzz, rightfully so detailing one of the most intense manhunts in the history of everything, and is looked to as one of the Oscar frontrunners.

The story of Osama Bin Laden is one that can be traced back to the early 90's at least. Perhaps even farther. But this isn't the story about him. It's not even entirely about the manhunt to find him. It's about the CIA operative who spent the majority of her life hunting him down. Maya (Jessica Chastain) starts out in the American embassy in Pakistan and quickly shows that she can handle torture and is very motivated to find Bin Laden. Over the course of ten years she watches multiple leads slip through her fingers, watches friends die in the hunt, and has to sit by while the government doesn't act on what she believes is rock solid information. I wonder how much of it is true and it certainly is a debate everyone will be having. Of course we all know how it ends. The good guys win and Osama takes a one way trip to the ocean floor.

It's going to be hard to review this movie because there was many parts I didn't like. And just because I don't like Bigelow doesn't mean she doesn't know how to make a film. The first 5 minutes of the film is a black screen with the sounds of 9/11 phone calls through the speakers. It was tense, heartbreaking, and set up the entire reason why everyone is so motivated to find this man and kill him. And at the very end of the film, when the helicopters take off to insert Seal Team 7 is a mastery example of visual effects, pacing and tense drama.

But the middle is a muddled experience. There is a lot of torture. And I was never sure of the film was supporting it or saying something against it. In all reality it probably wasn't saying anything at all, just that it was the necessary evil they took to find those responsible for the hijackings. But if this is how we treat prisoners of war, it's not surprising the U.S. isn't exactly revered in the Middle East.

Characters are come and go. The only constant is Maya. And the only reason I knew her name was that her AIM screenname was Maya147 or something like that. I never learned anyone else's name. Characters who seemed important would disappear and then show up years later with important stuff and never be shown again. Even Maya's character isn't developed that well. Sometimes she's really serious and intensely analyzes information and then she says "Shutup!" like a mean girl when a colleague finds a new lead. What the hell? Is the CIA high school?

Honestly, it just felt sloppy. There was a loose conglomeration of scenes that seemed only slightly related. I'd much rather watch the documentary about the whole thing coming out this year. The beginning and ending scenes were great but this film doesn't do nearly as much as it should and all of its praise is highly overrated. I will certainly be rooting against it this Oscar season.

2 1/2 out of 4 stars.

-Christopher O'Connell

P.S. Chris Pratt? As a Navy Seal? As Maya would say on instant messenger "LOL".