Review of Zero Dark Thirty (2012) by Omar L — 16 Jul 2014
Much of the high rating comes with the movie's last half hour, a real-time reenactment of the execution of the 21st century's most wanted criminal. Even though the movie's conclusion was forgone, the events leading up to that conclusion helped in keeping the suspense and the threat.
While I didn't have an issue with the depiction of torture in the movie, there were two other issues I had: the first is the subplot dealing with the CIA's hope to flip a doctor in Al-Qaeda. While the results of that dealing led to the emotional resolve to continue the story for our characters, the setup and execution of that part was unsubtle and telegraphed. The second issue I had was with Jessica Chastain's continued mispronunciation of the name "Ahmed." It's not "Akmed," it's "aH-med." That's why there's an H in the name, not a K or a CH. For someone supposedly in the intelligence business who knows the language, the character should have known better. It's those details that (like with flaws in military presentation in The Hurt Locker) take away from the realism of stories that are marketed as realistic.
This review of Zero Dark Thirty (2012) was written by Omar L on 16 Jul 2014.
Zero Dark Thirty has generally received very positive reviews.
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