Jessica Chastain
“He only profits from praise who values criticism.”~ Heinrich Heine
If you personally have any vested interest in this film, then you probably will want to skip this blog post.
I saw this movie on Sunday, the same day as the Super Bowl.
Yes, I knew that the “big game” was on but I just didn’t have any interest in it whatsoever.
I had been wanting to see this film ever since I knew about it, and I had planned on seeing it earlier but time constraints held me back. But last Sunday I just up and left and went to see it.
I don’t normally watch films at the theater anymore and I was absolutely and quickly reminded as to why that is the case.
After spending nearly $30 for concession food and to get into the theater, and over 150 minutes of watching this film, my money could have been put to better use.
I had allowed myself to become a bit nervous based on a conversation I had about the film’s scenes of torture. And as I sat there in the dark (with only two others in the entire room) I realized that these torture scenes were rather quick and to the point of the film.
But I was unphased. The torture scenes were similar to the scenes in the film, “Safe House” starring Denzel Washington. THOSE scenes were a little more intense.
The film progressed in the longest fashion that I had ever known. I realize that there was a full story to tell since the film started out with a few bits and pieces of the attacks that happened on the 11th of September. So there was over a decade to cover before the film got to the point of the plot: Find Bin Laden.
This could be classified as a thriller. It could also be called a drama. But the whole “based on true events” tag line (if it ever used it) was questionable. I hate it when Hollywood uses that to promote a film that has a story and a plot that supposedly had happened in real life. As it was said to me earlier, watching films in the theater is supposed to be an escape mechanism.
Quite honestly, I figured that this film was going to focus more upon that. But it stretched out in long scenes that dragged and dragged and dragged.
Covering over a decade of a timeline shouldn’t have to be that difficult. I’ve seen films that were done many decades ago that covered over several centuries in a timeline of a plot that took LESS time than Zero Dark Thirty.
It also could be that I had higher expectations of the film. And it didn’t deliver what I had expected. Although it was very amusing to see James Gandolfini as Director of the C.I.A. that was rather close to the President of the United States. Or was it amusing that he had more hair on his head than he did when he starred in The Sopranos?
Two-thirds of the film was to cover seven years in the hunt for Bin Laden. The rest of it actually was the siege on the compound in Afghanistan…. a story that we ALL know by now. 
It was quite lengthy in duration as the ending of the film. And I began to wonder how accurate it was to what happened in reality.
It was very interesting to me that they would put on film a quick view of Bin Laden after he had been eliminated…. laying there bloodied and dead as they continued to put bullets in him to make sure. But they never clearly showed his face during any time of the film. The actor who played Bin Laden is Ricky Sekhon.
Then at the end, I just rolled my eyes as the camera came in close to the main character Maya, as played by Jessica Chastain. And that was that.
I realized also other reasons why I do not go to the theater to watch these films.
Not only are concessions stands the Devil ($18.50 spent: which is my own fault), but the volume in theaters is insanely loud. No matter if they have to be loud enough for a crowded theater, its still too much.
As a child, I always had issues with extremely loud noises. I think that during Zero Dark Thirty, I jumped a half a dozen times because either gunfire or an explosion was so frickin’ loud. And then I remembered that I had this same issue watching “Savages” in the theater. The last movie that I had seen in the theater.
I am sure that the couple who sat about ten to twelve rows back behind me had fun watching me bounce up and down in my wheelchair like a Jack-In-The-Box every time something went KA-BOOM!!
I didn’t even bother to stick around for the final seconds of the credits just to see if something was added. Something that many people miss, but doesn’t happen 100% of the time.
As I left the theater and walked through the front door, I turned on the television and found that the Super Bowl was at halftime and Beyonce was on stage doing her thang. I was so exhausted from the disappointment of it all that I had no interest in watching the second half. Although I do know that there was a power outage in the third quarter and there’s been some really hilarious jokes floating around on the Internet about it. And I do know who would end up winning. Isn’t that the important part anyway??
I think however that my expectations were far too high for this film. The excitement build up that I had when I found that they were making a movie about the hunt for Bin Laden had soared to a level of high that never should have been reached.
Then again, perhaps this film was made in too much haste. At least for a Hollywood production. I figured documentaries and special programs would come, and they did. But a Hollywood produced film, I never really thought would come so soon.
The only example I have is the film “Selena” starring Jennifer Lopez. That film came out within just a few years of Selena’s death. And now when I watch it, I just wonder what Hollywood was thinking making a film so soon. But without this film, Lopez wouldn’t reach the status and level of fame that she has today.
So who knows? Maybe this film will catapult Jessica Chastain’s career?? I for certain had never heard of her until this.
All I know is that in my opinion, I should have waited for the DVD release. And as much as I was disappointed with it as a whole, I know that when that DVD release comes that the darn thing will end up in my collection.
I was asked later in the evening which movie I went to see.
I’ve been referring to it as “Zero Dork Thirty” ever since.
Dambreaker 