A good movie, but Maya's character development was a huge problem. There was a lot of "telling" instead of "showing" regarding what I think was supposed to be her descent into obsession over capturing bin Laden. I guess Bigelow felt it was necessary to have one main protagonist serve at the movie's axis, but Maya's inclusion came off as forced and the movie (particularly the last shot) seemed to be counting on the emotional bond between Maya and the audience to give it that *oomf.* Unfortunately, there was never anything on the screen to serve as a foundation for that bond, and any emotion came from finally killing bin Laden after 10 years, not from Maya fulfilling her personal quest.
No I was expecting a film more like this : <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ew-SrlQ9tlI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Don't lecture me, hunh? I knew it wasn't going to be an action movie. I didn't know the ending, the best part, would feel tacked-on, as if it were needed to get financing for the movie to begin with. Actors portraying the Seals have been appearing on Leno and Letterman as if they're integral to the story. Instead, they're there to serve as punctuation for an interminable run-on sentence. I'm not sexist. I do think it's a shame women directors aren't better recognized today, and I'll go one further: I wish the black community were better served in the entertainment industry than Tyler Perry's Step'N Fetchit movies or almost anything Spike Lee has made since "Malcolm X". My wife said the same thing: Zero Dark 30 was talky and long and might have been better served by a male director. The movie tried too hard to butch up the protagonist. Just TELL the story. Don't embellish it. For example, there's no way of knowing, but I'd bet money that Maya never said to Leon Panetta, "I'm the m*****f***** that found this guy" or whatever it was. Rings about as true as Tom Cruise's fictional lieutenant j.g. Caffey saying to Nicholson's Colonel Jessup, "And you're under arrest, you s.o.b." Pure Hollywood b.s. In these govt jobs, you don't talk to superiors (no matter your opinion of them) in that way. Great, Bigelow told the story she wanted to tell. That's fine. I'm cool with the p.o.v., she was on the right track, but it's a seriously overrated movie. They've been smart with the marketing, and the critics have helped them. I'm glad you liked it. Don't cry watching the Academy Awards when it wins nothing, though. P.S. And since torture didn't get us the leads to bin Laden, this becomes even more of a Hollywood exercise in b.s.
I can see why some people might like this movie. And I haven't seen it. SO it may be done really well. But I'm just not that interested in seeing it. The storyline just doesn't captivate me. Again, I can see why some would think the hunt for OBL is an incredibly captivating story, and I'm sure there were some interesting real life stories that took place... ... but I kind of feel like I know the story to a degree. People obssessively hunted down this guy, and eventually found him. Got it. Am I missing something?
The first half lets you consider the ethics of torture vs. national interest. The answer is for you to decide. The second half was a look at the reality of the operations side. When you know the outcome, the interest is in actually seeing the nitty-gritty. To me. that kind of stuff is fascinationg. I thought it was a pretty good movie, though I too was lacking an emotional investment in the Maya character. Panetta asks her "do you know why you were selected out of high school?" She doesn't answer, they don't say and that would have made her more interesting I think.
The connect-the-dots stuff felt very lackluster. Like "The_Drake" said they did way too much telling rather than showing. Seems as if they glossed over a lot of details that would've made me more invested in her search. Maya was a 1-dimensional character. This was like the opposite of Fincher's Zodiac besides them both being fact-based films. Shallow, no real tension, big lack of character development/investment, no style.. everything Zodiac wasn't.
Just watched this over the weekend. The wife and I enjoyed it. I liked the one from National Geographic slightly better (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2095605/). I think if you could have had a mash of the two movies, it would have been great. I really liked (in the NatGeo version) where they had speeches and clips of The President and stuff. I just checked the release date, I didn't even realize it released us wide this past weekend. There was limited release back in Dec, and we went to the movies thinking it was NOT opening weekend for the movie. I was commenting, "wow, so crowded still." I feel silly now. We usually avoid opening weekend/month to have typically more enjoyable viewing experiences. I had to sit next to some annoying girl would made weird "hmph" noises throughout the movie. And "aww" sounds whenever an animal was on screen.
Saw it today. For those that felt the Maya character was underdeveloped, I guess I can see why you might feel that way. On the other hand, the real "Maya" may not want much revealed about herself for obvious reasons. I would also state that her reasons for being how she is (using the "F" bomb and her obvious passion for the mission) were explained well in the movie. Spend 12 years of your life doing only one thing, watching colleagues die, and surviving attempts on your life seem plenty to explain her motives. I read "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad" and even so, I learned some things about the manhunt from this movie I didn't know. I reccomend it. Keep in mind its definitely an adult movie. No big action sequences. Just a good idea of what it was like to be in on the chase for the worlds most wanted person.
