I found it funny just because it was Chris Pratt.

It was likely something that actually happened in the raid if Boal chose to put it in. But yes, Andy Dwyer whispering that was a funny moment. My whole theater cracked up.

I really dug the movie. It's a gripping procedural that leaves the audience to wrestle with the morality of the whole manhunt. I think it's one of Bigelow's most subtle films... much more so than THL (which I still liked a lot).

Did not expect to develop a crush on Jessica Chastain based on this movie. Even with all the tension in the finale I found myself missing her. I'd vote her for performance of the year.

Not sure what all these pussies are complaining about though. The film says torture is a convenient way for the military to get information. Did we not already know that? 24 was on the air for like nine years! And she ends up tracking down the courier without torturing anybody! AKA good hard works pays off over easy answers.

Bigelow and Fraser were robbed.

It's a very well crafted well acted thriller, but I have to agree with Manny that the actual raid sequence is somewhat of a letdown. I know they were trying to be super realistic, but honestly a little juicing up wouldn't have hurt that much IMO. They could have made it such an exciting scene considering it is the payoff of the entire movie, but nope they went for the more quiet and procedural route which was interesting, but just not very thrilling.

Chastain was great and I was surprised by how much I liked Jason Clarke's character. Sure he was kind of an asshole, but I think he was really the only one who brought some much needed energy to the movie. Just wish he was in the second half more.

You guys read wayyyy to much into the film.


The film never calls into the question the actual raid or the question of actually killing of Bin Laden.


It calls into questions that path that led up to the moment.


The film stays rather neutral but really the main character is looking at Osama Bin Laden's body at the end in a state of silent joy and sad reflection...
Its more like "yes he is dead, a vile man, but is what we did to reach here worth it"

While still riveting (in my opinion), I think the anticlimatic raid on the compound was thematically coherent with the rest of the film. There's never even a Mission Accomplished, "rah rah!" moment for capturing bin Laden. The only shots we get of his face are in overlit digital photos. Instead, you're left thinking about the five other bodies the SEAL team had to take out to find the one guy. And Maya, who was broken by years of hunting down this man, ends her story here in tears. The movie leaves you wrestling not only with the moral ramifications of the use of torture, but the patience, loss, fortitude and displacement Maya felt during her search.

Was it all worth it? That's what I think Bigelow wanted to say with the film, and it reflects vibrantly through every character and plotline.

The film still has an epic shot of Bin Laden and you see some blood and his nose, and its some sort of nice satisfaction "yeahhh he is dead"

This is masterful and more than deserving of its glowing critical reception. The film reminds me of Jean-Pierre Melville's Le cercle rouge: we as an audience live with, exist alongside, this character for over two hours, and we come to know and sympathize with her through deed and her inherent nature rather than more conventional personal history and context, and through her, we become aware of a dangerous, deceptive, information dense world no single individual can understand in full, let alone control. The film also has such respect for each gesture and moment: its detailed and panoramic vision of a manhunt waged as often with folders of evidence and surveillance-footage tapes in stale boardrooms as it with guns in the desert or in cars racing through crowded urban spaces is fascinating beyond compare. There are recognizable actors throughout, but never is there a sense of overt performance: authentic, restrained, and smart is the order of the day among the vast ensemble. Also, the film does not shy away from ideological and moral complexity, and I find it sad it has endured sharp criticism for its courageous, clear-eyed gaze (criticism by people who would no doubt be just as infuriated by a more sentimental, sermonizing film). This is, I suspect, a major moment in Kathryn Bigelow's career. I worship Near Dark and very much admire The Hurt Locker, but here, to compare her to a great director whose philosophy and style Zero Dark Thirty reminds me of, she graduates from Thief and The Last of the Mohicans to Heat and The Insider.

A

This is the journalistic style I want to see in TV news/infotainment. It is a more mature form of sensationalism.

On a note related to this film:



Such a great year for him. Honestly, I believe his year rivals McConaughey's. He has three films represented on my year-end top ten list, including this one. Such a fantastic character actor; perhaps undervalued at times because many people can still only see him as Tony Soprano. It is a shame he was not Oscar nominated for either Killing Them Softly or Not Fade Away.

Heh - - now that's an insightful comment!

I agreed with little of that but I would concur that Boal/Bigelow could have made an even better miniseries out of this.

Argo is Ringo Starr's solo career. Zero Dark Thirty is the White Album.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is Sgt. Pepper's.

Point, Break, mother, fuckers! Yeaaaaah boooiy!

Bigelow's top five, in my opinion:

1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Near Dark
3. The Hurt Locker
4. Point Break
5. Strange Days

I hope you have not seen Near Dark.

Of course they're happy they did their job successfully, but I felt a hesitation. The focused turned to the harddrives and keeping the kids quiet. Other films probably would have amped up the score and the 'movie-ness' of the raid but Bigelow does the opposite.

Jason Clarke was terrific in this. His arc was just as fascinating as Maya's- he goes from leading the torture sessions to returning to Washington because he can no longer torture people in the name of defending America. He shrugs it off as he's "tired of seeing so many naked dudes," but you can see it in his eyes that he's had enough. The monkeys emphasized that as well.

I read the last shot as Maya realizing her obsession wasn't as important as she thought. Nothing could have lived up to what she envisioned bin Laden's death would be. And when the pilot says "Where would you like to go?" she realizes that she has NOTHING in her life besides this manhunt. No Jessica, no friends, no purpose. Add onto the fact that she has to live with torturing people and she's a broken woman.

I went into this having lowered expectations. Thinking that it was getting overhyped.

Man. It was fantastic. I loved every second of it. The only minor issue I had was the average script. Some lines were just... not well written. But Chastain knocked it out of the park. I didn't have a big problem with the torture scenes. And the entire last act, IMO, was extremely well done, especially the ending.

My #3 of the year. A

The film didn't really stay with me all that long after it was over, but I thought it was great while watching it. It's very well-made. The directing is impressive and Bigelow did not deserve to be snubbed by the Academy. It may enter similar territory as her Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker," but it's a very different film and Bigelow has done a great job. Jessica Chastain gives a "great" performance, but not an amazing one. I'm a fan of hers and thought I'd be more impressed by her here to be honest. Jason Clarke was great as well. I was surprised to see Mark Duplass turn up here. I really like the guy, it's just amusing how he seems to be in everything this year.

There are some intense scenes here. Probably the most intense part for me had to do with Jennifer Ehle's character. The raid sequence is very well-done. The last shot of the film is superb. There's plenty to admire here. I don't believe I'll have any desire to watch it again, but it's most definitely worth seeing at least once.

8/10 (A-)

You were a different man when you saw this film.

Hours and hours ago.

Point Break - still one of the best action films of the last 25 years.

I actually thought that Chastain's character wasn't all that different from Renner's in The Hurt Locker in a certain respect. Both didn't really have much of a life or could enjoy life outside of their work. When Maya's job was finished, she had nothing.

As for the film, I find the filmmaking easy to admire, but the film impossible to love. It is extremely dry. Technically impeccable, but at no point did it drag me into the proceedings, not even during the final raid. It was just *shrug*. Unlike The Hurt Locker which I found impossibly tense at times.

Maya is a generic tough-minded career woman, negligibly enriched by irrational patriotism.

A masterful, taut film that manages to live up to the hype and improve upon Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. The film is about the unnamed CIA agent's (or as we know her here, "Maya") relentless pursuit of Bin Laden more than anything else, and a perfectly cast Jessica Chastain is superb in the lead. A

Also, needless to say, the controversy has become so overblown that it's not even funny after seeing the film.

I thought it was a very good film. Deserving of a Best Picture nomination? Well, not this year. There were just too many great films that went unrecognized, though I'm not angry it's nominated either. The direction here is perfect and should have been recognized. It was a very slick, fast paced flick which surprised me. Jessica Chastain is deserving of her acclaim (though I prefer Lawrence). The last shot was amazing. Probably my favorite ending of the year. I don't really have anything terribly negative to say about the film, it just left me cold. I didn't walk away thinking about it. When it was over, that was it. It was kind of in one ear and out the other. Adult popcorn fare, if you will. Still, a very good flick and I recommend it.

8/10