Movie: "Zero Dark Thirty"

[Akokisa 0]

Saw the movie. Liked it.

I've also read the book "No Easy Day" about the same Bin Laden raid, and this movie was very precise in capturing the details of the book. The exact sequence of events was reenacted. Details like the military dog, the Farsi language speaker, the door that was blown that only had a concrete wall behind it, the neighbors hearing the commotion, and so on, were all there.

I was surprised that the first hour and a half or so, of a two and a half hour movie, was spent on the intelligence hunt to find Bin Laden, and disappointed in how little time was spent showing the military preparations for the raid.

They made it look like they just walked into the Seal Team camp one day, and said; "Tonight you're going into Pakistan to get Bin Laden". Not so. They had months to prepare, created a mock compound to practice on, and spent a great deal of effort on practicing their techniques and contingencies.

I was also disappointed that they didn't show some of the massive military support effort that backed the mission. Like back-up helicopters, fighters circling overhead to ward off any Pakistani military response, aerial refuelers, and a horde of geeks to process the siezed computer files. And since the stealth choppers didn't have the range to get back to their base, they had to land at a makeshift secret refueling outpost in the Pakistani desert, where troops set up a fuel bladder.

They could have also shown, but did not, the flying of Bin Laden's body to the carrier, and burial at sea.

I was surprised at the lack of audience reaction. I expected cheering when Bin Laden was killed, but the theatre was silent. The only reaction was when the SEAL's whispered the name of one of the bad guys who was hiding around the corner, and when he peeked around the corner to see who was calling his name, they shot him. That produced giggles. It's actually a psychological technique - people are naturally curious to see who is calling their name, and the SEALs used it to expose the bad guy so they didn't have to charge into a man waiting with a gun. And the SEALs knew the names of every bad guy in the compound before they went in.

All in all, an outstanding movie.

[quade 4]

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I was also disappointed that they didn't show some of the massive military support effort that backed the mission. Like back-up helicopters, fighters circling overhead to ward off any Pakistani military response, aerial refuelers, and a horde of geeks to process the siezed computer files. And since the stealth choppers didn't have the range to get back to their base, they had to land at a makeshift secret refueling outpost in the Pakistani desert, where troops set up a fuel bladder.

There is a legitimate reason though. This film was "Maya's" story and not a documentary about the entire effort. It's told from her point of view as much as possible and there is also a legitimate reason for that in terms of story telling; she becomes the surrogate of the audience which means the audience feels what she feels.

Difficult subject matter and need to be honest and accurate means it's a more difficult story to tell than say, "Gangster Squad." The writer and director have far less leeway to make it a "Hollywood" movie; far less leeway than they did for "The Hurt Locker." Is it entertaining? Well, not as much as if they were able to sexy it up, but I appreciate the attempt to be as accurate as possible within the bounds of a theatrical film intended for wide release. It's a good film. If you want to see how the CIA found bin Laden, it's damn fine.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[OHCHUTE 0]

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Saw the movie. Liked it.

I've also read the book "No Easy Day" about the same Bin Laden raid, and this movie was very precise in capturing the details of the book. The exact sequence of events was reenacted. Details like the military dog, the Farsi language speaker, the door that was blown that only had a concrete wall behind it, the neighbors hearing the commotion, and so on, were all there.

I was surprised that the first hour and a half or so, of a two and a half hour movie, was spent on the intelligence hunt to find Bin Laden, and disappointed in how little time was spent showing the military preparations for the raid.

They made it look like they just walked into the Seal Team camp one day, and said; "Tonight you're going into Pakistan to get Bin Laden". Not so. They had months to prepare, created a mock compound to practice on, and spent a great deal of effort on practicing their techniques and contingencies.

I was also disappointed that they didn't show some of the massive military support effort that backed the mission. Like back-up helicopters, fighters circling overhead to ward off any Pakistani military response, aerial refuelers, and a horde of geeks to process the siezed computer files. And since the stealth choppers didn't have the range to get back to their base, they had to land at a makeshift secret refueling outpost in the Pakistani desert, where troops set up a fuel bladder.

They could have also shown, but did not, the flying of Bin Laden's body to the carrier, and burial at sea.

I was surprised at the lack of audience reaction. I expected cheering when Bin Laden was killed, but the theatre was silent. The only reaction was when the SEAL's whispered the name of one of the bad guys who was hiding around the corner, and when he peeked around the corner to see who was calling his name, they shot him. That produced giggles. It's actually a psychological technique - people are naturally curious to see who is calling their name, and the SEALs used it to expose the bad guy so they didn't have to charge into a man waiting with a gun. And the SEALs knew the names of every bad guy in the compound before they went in.

All in all, an outstanding movie.

Odd, lots of dissapointments but yet finally it was mentioned movie was outstanding?
Sounds pretty boring to me. Everyone knows the end of the story. All use of aircraft carriers and aircraft cost a lot of money so keeping costs low, your pre raid sets on sound stages are the right choice.

[MikeJD 0]

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Sounds pretty boring to me. Everyone knows the end of the story.

There have been lots of great, riveting movies made where we already knew the end of the story. And some terribly tedious ones where we didn't.

I haven't seen Zero Dark Thirty - probably catch it on Blu-Ray. I do rate Bigelow in general, although I thought The Hurt Locker was over-hyped.

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Sounds pretty boring to me. Everyone knows the end of the story.

There have been lots of great, riveting movies made where we already knew the end of the story. And some terribly tedious ones where we didn't.

To that point, I'd say we know the ends of most movies before we walk into a theater. Maybe not the fine details, but the basics. In 99% of RomComs we know with near certainty the guy and the gal are going to end up in each others arms living happily ever after. We knew for a fact James Bond was going to live and the bad guy was going to die. We knew for a fact the moment Frodo was given the ring it was going to end up being tossed into the volcano. We knew with 100% certainty at the final conclusion of the Harry Potter series, Voldamort would finally, once and for all die. We knew the Titanic sank. We knew the Apollo 13 astronauts made it back to earth.

In fact in most films we would hate it if the ending didn't turn out as we expected. It is a rare film that does and it's even rarer for those few exceptions to be successful.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[airtwardo 7]

In fact in most films we would hate it if the ending didn't turn out as we expected. It is a rare film that does and it's even rarer for those few exceptions to be successful.

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The Usual Suspects comes to mind...

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[regulator 0]

wasnt it debunked that the 'maya' character in real life was a man? Not that takes anything I away from the movie I was just curious.

[ryoder 1,590]

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In fact in most films we would hate it if the ending didn't turn out as we expected. It is a rare film that does and it's even rarer for those few exceptions to be successful.

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The Usual Suspects comes to mind...

That was GREAT!!!
Oddly, I didn't hear about it when it came out, but rented it years later on recommendation from a friend.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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wasnt it debunked that the 'maya' character in real life was a man? Not that takes anything I away from the movie I was just curious.

I had not heard that. Cast and crew keep saying they've met "her," but I'd be extremely interested in knowing how one would go about debunking somebody whose life is undercover.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Akokisa 0]

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wasnt it debunked that the 'maya' character in real life was a man?

In both the book and the movie, it's a female. But then, a lot of characters are changed to protect identities, so who knows... I'm sure they would hate to be identified, and have a bunch of terrorists looking for them. Whoever it is, they deserve a darned medal!

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wasnt it debunked that the 'maya' character in real life was a man?

In both the book and the movie, it's a female. But then, a lot of characters are changed to protect identities, so who knows... I'm sure they would hate to be identified, and have a bunch of terrorists looking for them. Whoever it is, they deserve a darned medal!

She got one. Highest medal the intelligence community gives. At least that's the public story told by the intelligence community.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver