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Zero Dark Thirty

Play trailer 1:07 Poster for Zero Dark Thirty R Released Jan 11, 2013 2h 37m Drama Mystery & Thriller War Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 305 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden becomes one of the most-wanted men on the planet. The worldwide manhunt for the terrorist leader occupies the resources and attention of two U.S. presidential administrations. Ultimately, it is the work of a dedicated female operative (Jessica Chastain) that proves instrumental in finally locating bin Laden. In May 2011, Navy SEALs launch a nighttime strike, killing bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
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Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty

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Critics Consensus

Gripping, suspenseful, and brilliantly crafted, Zero Dark Thirty dramatizes the hunt for Osama bin Laden with intelligence and an eye for detail.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com [Zero Dark Thirty] is one of the great cinematic procedurals ever made. Rated: 4/4 Apr 26, 2020 Full Review Scott Marks San Diego Reader When it comes to establishing and maintaining tension, there wasn't a better American genre picture released this year. Refrain from viewing it as historical record and you won't leave disappointed. Rated: 3/5 Oct 28, 2019 Full Review Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online ... it is Chastain's performance, as restrained as it is powerful, that may just be the cherry atop this massive and meticulous film. Rated: A- Sep 7, 2017 Full Review Wael Khairy The Cinephile Fix ...at the film’s most climatic scene, you’ll forget you’re even watching a movie. Dec 9, 2024 Full Review Joseph Tomastik Loud and Clear Reviews Zero Dark Thirty suffers from a story that’s a bit too long, scattered, and cold … but that also works in its favor, because it makes you feel how maddeningly long, scattered, and cold the near-decade-long search for bin Laden must have been. Rated: 4/5 Dec 8, 2024 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal may have meant well but make no mistake that Zero Dark Thirty cannot be viewed in the same light after the torture report's release in 2014. Rated: 3.5/5 Dec 19, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member It’s awesome. Better than I thought it would be. The last 50 minutes or so is an edge of the seat thrill ride. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/03/25 Full Review Matt W This is the best CIA movie ever. Gritty, realistic, hard to watch at times, brooding, building, tense. Amazing direction and cinematography, sound design. Katherine Bigelow won her Oscar for The Hurt Locker but this is head and shoulders better. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/20/24 Full Review Nathan M Really good. Amazing. Nothing wrong with it. It deserves an 80% Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/18/24 Full Review First name L The makers spend over 2.5hrs of screen time e to cover what was more excitingly portrayed by PBS in under an hour. Aside from being a not-that-good movie, glamorizing “the ends justify the means”, particularly when the “ends” are basically just revenge is highly distasteful. The large amount of Oscar nominations given to such an unremarkable movie speaks volumes about how disconnected the Academy Awards typically are from actual filmcraft. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/05/24 Full Review Name S A tense accurate account of that really happens with the men and women of the armed forces and the look at the strenuous and risky operations that go into something portrayed in real life he acing, writing and cinematography are amazing. A must watch for anyone i the service and out of the service a full appreciation for the men and women active and non active. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/01/24 Full Review Ricardo W Debo comenzar por advertir que, si bien esta es una película muy bien hecha, no deja de ser una pieza de interés muy limitado, y tal vez es lo que más resiento de buena parte de las películas que este año nos fueron ofrecidas como las mejores: una visión excesivamente americocéntrica de la realidad. Sé que acabo de decir una perogrullada, pero es necesario el comentario toda vez que esta película puede carecer del menor interés para la audiencia externa, muy a pesar de que la historia en sí misma es muy interesante. Dicho esto, hay que admitir que es un film de grandísimos e innegables méritos, y tal vez el mayor de ellos es la falta de triunfalismo, lo cual contrarresta directamente lo anterior. ¡Vaya paradoja! Tomando como eje de la historia un capítulo bastante confuso y oscuro de la historia estadounidense contemporánea, que tuvo como desenlace la muerte de Osama Bin Laden, podía ser mucha la tentación de caer en la auto-indulgencia, y este film está muy lejos de hacerlo. Más bien, parece un retrato bastante fiel de las complejidades y las implicaciones éticas y humanas de todo el proceso. Esto gracias a un guión sobrio, muy bien hilvanado y estupendamente dirigido. Este no es el típico ejemplo de películas nacionalistas, banderitas americanas ondeando y discursos grandilocuentes. Más bien parece una invitación honesta a la autocrítica sin caer en retóricas liberales, un equilibrio muy difícil de lograr, y sin embargo lo alcanza. Como documento histórico, es un esfuerzo interesantísimo. Como pieza cinematográfica, es sobresaliente en su género. Un film muy inteligente, por decir lo menos. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/06/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden becomes one of the most-wanted men on the planet. The worldwide manhunt for the terrorist leader occupies the resources and attention of two U.S. presidential administrations. Ultimately, it is the work of a dedicated female operative (Jessica Chastain) that proves instrumental in finally locating bin Laden. In May 2011, Navy SEALs launch a nighttime strike, killing bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Director
Kathryn Bigelow
Producer
Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison
Screenwriter
Mark Boal
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co
Mark Boal, Annapurna Pictures, First Light Production
Rating
R (Language|Brutal Disturbing Images|Strong Violence)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 11, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 7, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$95.7M
Runtime
2h 37m
Sound Mix
Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital
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