Zero Dark Thirty not worth seeing

[quinnox]

I know this movie has been praised here recently, so I was looking forward to seeing it. Oh boy. Where to begin. All the controversy about the prolonged torture scenes? It is true. Lots of torture in this movie, to the point where it was becoming gratuitous and rather unpleasant to watch. But that really isn't the main problem. The movie is boring. Funnily enough, one of the most interesting characters is the guy who does the torture, but then they completely drop his character and start to focus on the CIA young woman recruit, and the movie goes downhill rapidly. This woman is typical of many Hollywood ladies, in that, they look like a model and are pleasing to look at on screen, but can't act worth a damn. But before that, the actor who plays the torturer accomplishes a difficult feat, which is showing that he also finds the torture repellent, and is actually a good person, but that he is forced to do it as part of his job, and manages to be sympathetic even though he is doing very repellent things. This is very hard to do, this juggling act, and the actor pulls it off.

But as I said, once he leaves the scene to return to Washington D.C., and decides he is burnt out, and has had enough, then the movie is just weakened substantially by the focus on the lead actress's character. But then the worst part of the movie is the long, drawn out, interminable ending. When they finally get to bin Laden's house, they stretched this scene out to the breaking point, showing every little door that was blown up to gain access, every stairwell they climbed, and every little night vision scene with that green lighting up the scene to show how cool this technology is. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the actual raid itself took less time... It wasn't suspenseful and wasn't exciting. I thought overall, this movie was a big disappointment considering the hype it has had, despite one great performance by the actor I mentioned.

That said, this is one person's opinion and you may differ if you see it, and that is OK.

[monmouth3]

2. The woman you speak of I think is Jessica Chastain and she was nominated for an Oscar. I really

wondered about that one myself. I've seen her in other stuff and she's quite unremarkable. An adequate actress at best. Thanks for your report..

[joeybee12]

4. She's the heavy favorite, though...

Then again, there is such a backlash to the movie now it might go to Naomi Watts.

[obamanut2012]

13. She won the Gold Globe alst night

And, unremarkable? She's an excellent actress, in everything I've ever seen her in, and has been nominated for Oscars more than once.

[monmouth3]

18. Perhaps but has she won one?..

[bemildred]

3. I don't watch war movies much.

Funny idea of "entertainment" in my view.

[zappaman]

5. I understand what you are saying, but I disagree

I think it is a well-made and engrossing film.
I certainly enjoyed it more than ARGO.

But, you are right that it could have been tightened up some.

LIFE OF PI is my favorite of the year.

[Zookeeper]

6. Thanks for the review.

I had decided against seeing it for several reasons. I was unimpressed by Jessica C.'s acting from the clips.

As much as I want to support a female Hollywood director, this just doesn't sound like a film I want to see.

[quinnox]

10. Yea, its a good idea not to see it then if you didn't like her acting

in the clips. She is basically the focus of the last half of the movie, and it was painful to watch her act, in my humble opinion. I'm astonished they are talking about an Oscar.

[lovuian]

17. I agree I thought she was terrible

right off the bat she takes part of the torture and I lost all sympathy for her

And I'll add in that scene I don't know who is the tortured human being in the end
the torturer or the tortured
I don't know why she got a golden globe

[tularetom]

7. I find the whole concept of high tech espionage and war movies boring as hell

I'd probably nod off during the bin Laden scenes. Bunch of guys sneaking through some compound lit by night lights. Big whoop. They did a great job but there's no way to spice it up for the viewer.

Plus the title itself sounded sorta stupid. WTF is "zero dark thirty" supposed to mean anyway?

[zappaman]

8. Zero Dark Thirty refers to the time the raid was carried out

the time between 00:01h and 05:59h.
In other words, between midnight and dawn...

[quinnox]

12. heh, yup

That was the same feeling I got from that interminable ending. I was begging for it to finally end at that point.

[lovuian]

9. I did not like it because of the Torture scenes

She stands there and watches the torture and participates in it

I was not sympathetic to her as a character

I warn people it is not enjoyable at all to watch

What infuriated me was the Stealth Helicopter at Area 51 was probably worth Billions of dollars

It was NOT QUIET at all and freakin crashed almost killing the soldiers within it

It really showed the WASTE of MONEY on that piece of Junk

I am glad we got Osama because I won't have to live with that Bush Boogie man ever again
I won't have to see the absurd videos of him and he did win ...
When you see Osama's Mighty Network of out dated computers and hard drives
and then look at the mighty Homeland and CIA and US Military and their equipment
and think it took 10 years to get this guy and the money it took in bribes and the illegal torture
approved by Rumsfeld Bush Cheney and Gonzalez

Osama wins in the fact he was right America is bankrupt ....

[quinnox]

14. yep, she was not a likable character at all

I agree with your take. And also, I hated it at the end, how they brought her the body bag to identify bin Laden, as if they were bringing a fresh kill to their master or something.

[lovuian]

20. Yep ...it was like a hunter looking at her prize but really its a old man

with a beard ....the Boogie man is dead
When you think of the Patriot Act and Guantanamo prison and Abu Ghahib
and all the deaths and money used so we could have the Iraq War and Afghanistan War
of which history is going to record .....we lost

and the Trillions STOLEN from the American people for the Military Industrial Complex
which none can be accounted for

When you see his little Command Central of Computers and hard drives and you look at Homeland Security
Satellite photos Phone wiretaps (all over the world) the Surveillance ....10 years folks to get this guy
and the torture was futile and didn't give us any intel

all it did was take America and put it along side the likes of WWII war criminals that were hanged for waterboarding our soldiers

Ya it was not an enjoyable movie

[JaneyVee]

11. I liked it, but I tend to like long drawn out movies, especially documentary or doc style movies.

Documentary just suck me right in, no matter how obscure the subject.

[obamanut2012]

15. I thought the movie good, and Chastain excelelnt

As she always is. It is very odd to have you say she's not a good actress. She is very good. I get not liking her acting, but that isn't the same thing as her being a bad actor.

She's an excellent actress, in everything I've ever seen her in, and has been nominated for Oscars more than once, and won the Golden Globe last night. I am rooting for Naomi Watts, because I think she is such an under-appreciated actress, but would be totally fine with Chastain winning.

[larkrake]

16. I agree I wasted my money on this show.

Half was torture, the characters had no depth or storyline, the woman was a bad actor. This was a pointless film, wasnt using the opportunity to flesh out the politics, how Bush bungled the captures, nothing but the killing

[ButterflyBlood]

19. You think Jessica Chastain is a bad actress?

Sheesh. I definitely saw where she got her Best Actress nomination from in the movie. Yes her character was often kind of wooden, but that was the whole point.

I dug the movie.

[Sherman A1]

21. Skipping this film

just no interest at all.

[WCGreen]

22. I think this is a response to the "liberal Hollywood" crap the GOP has been

repeating for years and years and years...

See there, we glorify war and violence just as much as the next American.

[AnnieBW]

23. They sexied up the torture

because real analysis, the way that it was done by the CIA analyst and others (and yes, there were others involved) is BORING. Well, not to the people doing it, but to watch. It's not all Claire Danes and her bulletin boards and strings from "Homeland". It's more likely in a computer file somewhere. The director had to do something to hold the audience's attention, so they amped up the torture.

Also, from what I understand, the analyst who is the model for the one in Zero Dark Thirty is a bit of a glory hog.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-zero-dark-thirty-shes-the-hero-in-real-life-cia-agents-career-is-more-complicated/2012/12/10/cedc227e-42dd-11e2-9648-a2c323a991d6_story.html