Zero Dark Thirty

Name: Zero Dark Thirty
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Released: December 19, 2012
Duration: 157 min
Rating: 95
Cast: Chris Pratt, Édgar Ramírez, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Ehle, Jessica Chastain

2012

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 46 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 1197 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	Your Score
6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 1197 Ratings

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Zero Dark Thirty

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: December 19, 2012 | R

Starring: Chris Pratt, Édgar Ramírez, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Ehle, Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong

Summary: For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. [Columbia Pictures]

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Genre(s): Action, Drama, History, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 157 min

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Awards & Rankings

2	#2 Best Movie of 2012
11	#11 Most Discussed Movie of 2012
8	#8 Most Shared Movie of 2012

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Film.com Stephanie Zacharek

Feb 27, 2013

Zero Dark Thirty is precise, definitive filmmaking, yet Bigelow refuses to hand over easy answers. Some people call that evasion. I call it the ultimate despair. Read full review

100

Steven Rea

Jan 3, 2013

A monumental achievement that documents a coordinated and complicated response to a monumental tragedy. Read full review

100

Eric Kohn

Nov 27, 2012

Bigelow delivers an acute realization of the mission's execution that's eerily in sync with the way it played in the popular imagination. Visually, the events unfold as a mashup of shadowy movements with flashes of green night vision. It's simultaneously predictable and tense. Read full review

100

Steve Persall

Jan 9, 2013

The last thing we see in Zero Dark Thirty is Maya's face and it is also ours, silently crying tears of reflection. Read full review

Dana Stevens

Dec 14, 2012

It's only at the very beginning and the very end that Zero Dark Thirty functions (brilliantly) as a ripped-from-the-headlines political thriller. Much of the rest of the time, it's a workplace drama about a woman so good at her job that most of her colleagues think she's crazy. Read full review

Lawrence Toppman

Jan 10, 2013

Zero Dark Thirty, like the mission that inspired it, commands respect, admiration, even awe in places for the logistical nightmares that had to be overcome to get it done. But it's a hard movie to love. Read full review

Rex Reed

Dec 18, 2012

As a realistic political thriller about Americans in harm's way it is not half as suspenseful or entertaining as "Argo." We may never know the truth about how we found bin Laden, but I still believe what we do know makes a strong enough story on its own without Wonder Woman. Read full review

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User Reviews

MarcDoyle

Dec 20, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Simply outstanding. Kathryn Bigelow, now that she's made the character-driven Hurt Locker and this phenomenally-paced thriller, has positioned herself as the dramatic chronicler of record in modern American warfare. No, she's not covering this stuff comprehensively, but the dramatic choices she makes, the slices she and her writers have focused on, so effectively tell the story of this era that I was thinking that we're lucky to have her as the credits of ZDT rolled. Chastain, the chameleon, is terrific in the film and will rightly be praised through the awards season. But I want to give special praise to Jason Clarke, who I've appreciated so thoroughly in Brotherhood and The Chicago code - he was an inspired casting choice. The enhanced interrogation sequences are technically no more difficult to watch than similar scenes in other films (most recently Safe House), but Clarke's ability to represent the interrogator's calculated pinballing between brutality and humanity is powerful. It's not a short movie, but I was riveted throughout. My audience gave the film a modest round of applause. I think they were more stunned by what they had just seen than anything else.… Expand

25 of 49 users found this helpful2524

hoops2448

Mar 2, 2013

A film 10 years in the making had better be good, a concept I held with John Carter, a film 100 years in the making. Unfortunately John Carter was horrendous and let down its literary background. Zero Dark Thirty doesn't have the luxury of being a fictional story or being a story so old itsA film 10 years in the making had better be good, a concept I held with John Carter, a film 100 years in the making. Unfortunately John Carter was horrendous and let down its literary background. Zero Dark Thirty doesn't have the luxury of being a fictional story or being a story so old its original fans grand kids are in their sixties. It pretty much had to be excellent, didn't it? The film follows CIA analyst Maya (Jessica Chastain) in her search for Osama Bin Laden following 9/11. The film spans a decade in the search through two administrations, torture, tragedy and heartbreak. The answer to that question by the way is unequivocally yes. Zero Dark Thirty is a taut clever thriller with a devastating lead performance by Chastain. The film not only follows the hunt for Bin Laden but it also tells the tale of a woman so hell bent on one goal that it slowly but surely breaks her down. It's not just a search for justice, justice found through dubious means for that matter, but a film that looks at the psychological toll a search like this can have on those conducting it. It's a movie I found myself very involved in, a film which makes you want to yell at the screen (you will know what scene) and a film that will leave you gratified but also a little bit fried, which I can only imagine was the point, for the viewer to feel like Maya. Screenwriter Mark Boal and Director Katheryn Bigelow have created a unique thriller that is extremely guarded and insular while never lacking in substance. The cast is excellent with Chastain giving a career high performance. However she is also supported by other actors bringing their A game from Jennifer Ehle to Jason Clarke. Ehle plays well opposite Chastain as a straight laced analyst whose nativity doesn't really suit her job. Clarke is the most interesting character in the film, a very closed off torturer who begins to tire of the constant brutality. The characters are beautifully written and equally well acted. The direction ensures the tension never really stops throughout the film and it keeps your interest throughout making for an exceptional viewing experience. A worthy follow up to The Hurt Locker and worthy of all the Oscar praise it is receiving.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

heeldavid

Nov 21, 2014

A political thriller that outshines the impressive "Argo". Kathryn Bigelow shows us why she is one of the best working directors in the world. The tears in Maya's eyes at in the last sequence of the film are just so hunting. Great Performance by Jessica Chastain

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

dharma

Jan 12, 2013

Critic's darling Katherine Bigelow is one of the few directors that received great critical acclaim . Long gone is the lady behind visceral, action hits such as Point Break and Blue Steel; her films now are still a technical virtuoso and wonderfully shot, but tackling serious topics in aCritic's darling Katherine Bigelow is one of the few directors that received great critical acclaim . Long gone is the lady behind visceral, action hits such as Point Break and Blue Steel; her films now are still a technical virtuoso and wonderfully shot, but tackling serious topics in a thoughtful way. Yes, it does tackle a heady, Oscar worthy topic such as the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Yes, Jessica Chastain is great and shaping up to be the next Meryl Streep. Yes, it is incredibly polished with great cinematography. But is it entertaining? Does it hold the audience's full attention? In spots, it is compelling. Do we really care for the characters? Well.. sort of. Is it Over-rated by critics? Yes, it sure is. Still an Oscar contender though but not a strong competitor against more 'stronger' Oscar nominees such as Lincoln or the Life of Pi… Expand

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

BlackfuryRises

Jun 11, 2013

A good performance by Chastain, and a great supporting cast, but I couldn't stop feeling bored by a movie spanning the time period of years...and having it feel like centuries.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

killercorgi

Jan 15, 2013

Zero Dark Thirty only proves the ability of Hollywood to conflate its own pompous self importance. The hype around this film is totally unwarranted. The narrative comes off like a flat reading of a history book. Zero Dark Thirty chokes under its own self-importance, and the obvious ego ofZero Dark Thirty only proves the ability of Hollywood to conflate its own pompous self importance. The hype around this film is totally unwarranted. The narrative comes off like a flat reading of a history book. Zero Dark Thirty chokes under its own self-importance, and the obvious ego of its sub-par director.… Expand

6 of 9 users found this helpful63

Nousernames

Dec 27, 2016

I don't know how so many people gave this good reviews. The acting is painful, the writing horrid, the camera angles are trying to be artsy and failing. Don't watch this movie unless you like to watch awkwardly shot torture scenes followed by long discussions...about said torture.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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