Zero Dark Thirty (Bigelow, 2012)

Millions of stunned Americans woke up on the morning of May 2, 2011 to learn that Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda terrorist leader and the man responsible for 9/11, was killed. Patriotism spread throughout the country, for the man who caused the deaths of thousands of Americans was finally killed. But many do not know the story behind the most wanted man in the world's assassination. It didn't take Hollywood long to want to tell this story, so they turned to the Oscar-winning director of The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow, to do it.

Bigelow traveled across global locales, worked The Hurt Locker writer Mark Boal, and hired actress Jessica Chastain to create a movie that encapsulates the decade-long hunt for bin Laden. The result is Zero Dark Thirty. The ending was known, and the stakes were high. Could Bigelow score another military win, and direct a worthy follow up to the successful Hurt Locker?

Fortunately, Zero Dark Thirty, much like the assassination it describes, is a phenomenal success.

The film captures the intensity, danger, and struggles of finding Osama bin Laden with great skill. It's easily one of the best movies of 2012, and one of the best military movies in years. It even surpasses The Hurt Locker in ambition and raw talent. Zero Dark Thirty is an adventure that cannot be missed.

Jessica Chastain, fresh off a huge year and an Oscar nomination in 2011, plays Maya, a CIA analyst assigned to scramble through all the intelligence related to bin Laden. She heads to Pakistan to work with Dan (Jason Clarke), a CIA officer who delves into extreme interrogation techniques. After months of torturing a detainee, they learn that a man named "Abu Ahmed" is working directly for Osama bin Laden. Maya spends years trying to find Ahmed, rising through ranks and connections but still fixated on finding Ahmed. bin Laden is her whole life; she is totally committed to finding the man, and will stop at nothing to do so. Zero Dark Thirty is the story of Maya's work, and how her involvement ultimately led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden himself.

Typically, knowing the ending of a film ruins the experience. However, Zero Dark Thirty remains a pulse-pounding thriller with so much to offer. Jessica Chastain gives an Oscar-worthy performance that's simultaneously haunted, focused, and intelligent. Chastain, much like her female director, is a dedicated woman that breaks gender stereotypes and provides a character more rounded and intense than most of her male co-stars. Maya is a hero that transcends classification, and joins a limited pantheon of great female action stars.

Zero Dark Thirty stands out by providing such an intense movie for a well-known assault. The thrills are very real, and Bigelow makes the viewer feel the danger of each situation. Even the final assault on Osama bin Laden's lair, the most famous and well-known scene in the film, is a thrilling sequence. It's innovative for its sharp shooting and crisp editing, featuring frequent cuts to night vision while flowing with the pulse of the operation's soldiers. The result is expected, but viewers still sit on the edge of their seat, breathing heavier and heavier with each passing minute. It's an awe-inspiring experience that can be credited to Bigelow's incredible direction.

The accuracy of the film has recently been brought to attention, most notably for its brutal depiction of torture in the United States' Middle Eastern black sites and how Maya's character is actually a  combination of several people (two of which are female). Meanwhile, the United State's military is concerned with the film's portrayal of the assault, and the means by which Bigelow acquired information used in the film. It remains unknown which parts are real and which are entertainment fabrications.

In either case, Zero Dark Thirty is an impressive work of art. The torture scenes, while strikingly violent and disturbing, do attempt to portray how prisoners were treated in United States' detention facilities. Plus, it shows the work of CIA agents well, who work daily by analyzing dozens of documents and files in the hopes of catching a rare break and a possible lead. Maya does justice to the dozens of men and women who were responsible for catching a mass murderer.

If "investigative drama" becomes a popular genre over the next decade, film analysts will have no question in finding the reason behind the genre's success. They'll acknowledge, in complete agreement, the brilliance of Zero Dark Thirty.

Five out of five stars.