The raid that took place to kill terrorist Osama Bin Laden
was standard procedure and put together not over hours but over years. As in
the film ZERO DARK THIRTY the difficulty in simply finding him took a great
amount of time. Once found, in a country that would have objected to our simply
going in to take him out, the difficulty of capturing or killing Bin Laden was
even more difficult. So why make a movie that appears to be a semi-action film
when the real story took place behind the scenes?
The plot line of the movie is simple and well known to most.
Osama Bin Laden was the terrorist responsible for the attack on U.S. soil that
happened on 9/11 where the Twin Towers in New York City were brought down by
two jet airliners. The entire military and espionage organizations of this
country then focused on capturing/killing Bin Laden who went on the lam for
years before they could find him. Once found a plan was formed and Seal Team
Six was sent in to capture/kill him. They did kill him and then dumped his body
in the ocean. That summarizes the events and most of this film. But the film is
90 minutes long so we have to round it out with more.
That rounding out goes from good to bad. As with ZERO DARK
the movie tells the behind the scenes actions going on that led to the event.
Some of these come off as believable and others come off as far from it. The
other meat around the bones of this film is the fictional depictions of the men
of Seal Team Six and the melodramatic problems that they have with the plans
and with each other. With as compelling a story as they have to work with here,
why insert this clap trap garbage to round out the film to 90 minutes?
On the good side the acting here is well done with a number
of good performances, enough not to single any one out. The production values
seen on screen are also well done.
On the bad side is the fact that this film feels rushed, as
if it had to be put together and slapped on the screen as fast as possible.
Thinking back to what was happening at the time that it actually the case. Some
may choose to ignore the politics involved with this movie's release but it
first aired on cable TV just before the elections of 2012. This could be
considered a coincidence but the fact that the film was financed by the
Weinstein brothers who supported President Obama, that the film portrays him in
the best light possible and that there is the inclusion of a snip of
Presidential contender Mitt Romney saying the war was over, even though he
wasn't a part of any of the events happening here, makes it hard to believe
there weren't political motivations to this movie not just being made but
rushed to be seen.
This is sad because in the haste of releasing this film all
thoughts of making the best film possible seem to have been tossed aside. A
number of people who are involved in the military or who have served found the
depiction of the Seal Team deplorable. The schizophrenic feel derived from a
movie that goes from melodramatic moments between soldiers to a depiction of
how events transpired makes for a confusing and unenjoyable film.
ZERO DARK THIRTY may not have been the most exciting movie
about a military event ever filmed but it did offer a straight forward story that
wasn't focused on doing little more than portraying the military as angst
ridden co-workers or the President as the hero who came to save the world. It
told the story of the men and women who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to
make the capture/death of Bin Laden a reality. This film doesn't compare.
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