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ZERO DARK THIRTYMovie Reviews
Drama about the elite team of intelligence and military operatives who worked in secret across the globe to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. Cast:Scott Adkins, Taylor Kinney, Jessica Chastain, Frank Grillo, Mark Duplass, Mark Strong, Chris Pratt, Joel Edgerton, Harold Perrineau, Kyle Chandler, Stephen Dillane, James Gandolfini, Jennifer Ehle, Mike Colter, Jason ClarkeDirector:Kathryn BigelowRelease Date:December 19, 2012DVD Release:March 19, 2013From:Sony PicturesRating:RLength:2 hr 0 min
Zero Dark Thirty played to exceptional reviews. • Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "...chilling... a timely and important reminder of the agonizing human price of zealotry.... a taut, crackling geopolitical thriller of a new sort." • And Peter Keough wrote in the Boston Phoenix, "...illuminating and thrilling..." More Reviews Below...
Zero Dark Thirty Positive Reviews (52 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the film lives in gray areas, brilliantly juxtaposing the perverse intimacy of torture with the moral imperative to stop terrorism.... masterful, merciless..."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 196 words, 12/06/12
Richard Corliss, Time: OUTSTANDING "...a powerhouse thriller... This is movie journalism that snaps and stings, that purifies a decade's clamor and clutter into narrative clarity, with a salutary kick."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,346 words, 11/25/12
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...pure, unadorned storytelling, an effort to recreate what happened with absolute authenticity and zero excess.... the drama is inherent from the very beginning..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 738 words, 12/06/12
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Kathryn Bigelow makes every moment matter in this dense saga, then punctuates the drama with a breathless raid on the enemy's compound."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 126 words, 01/03/13
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...meticulous and electrifying... a gripping salute to the desk warrior who spent not minutes but years going in for the kill."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 700 words, 12/07/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a hell of a ride... Chastain is a marvel.... Bigelow is a virtuoso at building suspense without compromising truth.... nerve-shattering."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 12/07/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There's an emotional detachment to the film that undercuts its potency. It's more technically proficient than emotionally involving."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 474 words, 12/19/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a slam-bang action picture... My guess is that much of the fascination with this film is inspired by the unveiling of facts, unclearly seen."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 928 words, 01/04/13
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The profound sleight-of-hand of this movie is that while moving as if it is telling you things, it's in fact always asking questions."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 891 words, 12/17/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...compelling... provides a fascinating and powerfully portrayed central character.... Bigelow has turned in her second consecutive piece of expert filmmaking."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 962 words, 12/18/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...soul-shaking... the most important American fiction movie about Sept. 11... Ms. Bigelow's direction here is unexpectedly stunning, at once bold and intimate..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,565 words, 12/18/12
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "Facts -- occasionally uncomfortable facts -- are what this sharp, often gripping though not flawless movie surrounds you with... works best when it's being tactical..."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 12/19/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Bigelow proves herself once again to be a master of heightened realism and narrative drive... an example of cinematic storytelling at its most effective."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 886 words, 12/19/12
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...riveting... Maya is a consummate professional who brilliantly performs her job in an often hostile work environment... one of the year's best..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 828 words, 12/19/12
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Nothing in the climax settles for easy triumphalism.... I'm still arguing with myself over parts of it. And that's a sign that a movie will endure."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 789 words, 01/04/13
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...has no overweening political agenda. Instead, it unfolds with the cool detachment of a documentary even in its most tense and gripping scenes."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 283 words, 12/19/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a slam-bang action picture... My guess is that much of the fascination with this film is inspired by the unveiling of facts, unclearly seen."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 928 words, 01/04/13
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "People on both sides might find the interrogation scenes difficult to watch, which is as it should be.... the movie reconfirms Bigelow as a master of high-tech action..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,151 words, 12/19/12
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...impressive, if self-consciously thin on political context or character development.... Bigelow and Boal's film seems morally tone deaf."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,413 words, 01/11/13
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a movie that grabs you from the first frames, takes you to some extremely ugly places and asks you how you feel about what you're seeing."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 409 words, 01/10/13
KEY CITIES (13 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...makes a 10-year bureaucratic slog utterly riveting... injects an astonishing degree of tension and suspense into a raid, the outcome of which is universally known."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 971 words, 01/11/13
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...slow-burning and brilliant... as a riveting portrait of a fiercely determined woman working in a male-dominated sphere, the film is a resounding success."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 01/04/13
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...chilling... a timely and important reminder of the agonizing human price of zealotry.... a taut, crackling geopolitical thriller of a new sort."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 672 words, 01/11/13
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...an astonishing achievement on nearly every level.... It is intense, it's thought-provoking and it's important. All told, a brilliant movie."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 646 words, 01/04/13
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Bigelow leaves the meaning up to us. Is it relief Maya feels for the vengeance she has so righteously served? Or despair at how little has actually changed?"(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,243 words, 01/04/13
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Spoiler alert: We got him.... [and yet] we're suddenly on edge, worrying, wondering if somehow this time around, the story is really going to end a different way."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 720 words, 12/19/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...innovative... has a pulse to the camera work that creates the sense of seeing the world through the eyes of someone methodical, observant and tense."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 824 words, 01/04/13
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...brings an uncanny urgency and suspense to a story that has an ending we already know... it isn't easy viewing -- but just try to look away."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 01/04/13
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "The waterboarding Maya witnesses, as well as other rough treatment doled out to detainees, is presented objectively. It's left up to the viewer to decide..."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 01/11/13
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a thrilling yet challenging film that trusts the audience to stick with it... not just state-of-the-art entertainment, but a great film."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 313 words, 01/11/13
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...thrilling, cathartic... It's as close to being in the White House situation room that night, watching a closed-circuit broadcast, as anyone could expect."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 01/10/13
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...sort of an elongated (very elongated) episode of 'Law and Order'... as a film it's simply too much of a passable thing."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 274 words, 01/11/13
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...harrowing.... There's little patriotic, rah-rah cheer or backslapping.... This is a study of people saddled with supremely difficult jobs, doing them as well as they can."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 01/04/13
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (11 Reviews)
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "People on both sides might find the interrogation scenes difficult to watch, which is as it should be.... the movie reconfirms Bigelow as a master of high-tech action..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,151 words, 12/19/12
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...exudes a constant, quiet confidence, telling a story with an ending we all know and making it feel thrilling, suspenseful, and completely vital."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 691 words, 11/28/12
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Densely detailed, superbly shot and acted, illuminating and thrilling... the best film of 2012.... The truth is in the details..."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 403 words, 01/03/13
Scott Tobias, AV Club: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...stands to become the dominant narrative about this important historical event.... It's a film about revenge and its immense costs..."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,010 words, 12/18/12
Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...complexity makes it hard to know what to think of the film.... knowing and not knowing constitute a process, a process in which people tell lies and get hurt..."(See all of Cynthia Fuchs's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,039 words, 12/20/12
Alison Willmore, Movieline: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...an examination of how contemporary warfare has so much more to do with information than with sending troops out into battle.... stunningly well-realized..."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 939 words, 11/29/12
John Semley, Slant: VERY GOOD(cg) "...effectively declassifies the extent of SOP Bush-era prisoner abuse and, while doing so, questions its procedural and moral efficacy... forthright, above-board..."(See all of John Semley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,226 words, 12/12/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a movie that grabs you from the first frames, takes you to some extremely ugly places and asks you how you feel about what you're seeing."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 409 words, 01/10/13
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...not only serves as a gripping, top-notch piece of filmmaking, it raises questions about America's role in the world that the country has yet to reconcile."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 817 words, 01/11/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...relentlessly dramatic.... What it does in the course of telling a seminal story of our time is what contemporary films so rarely do, serve as brilliant provocation."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 985 words, 12/19/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...soul-shaking... the most important American fiction movie about Sept. 11... Ms. Bigelow's direction here is unexpectedly stunning, at once bold and intimate..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,565 words, 12/18/12
Bob Mondello, NPR: OUTSTANDING "...the degree of complexity Bigelow and Boal bring to their story has to be counted a surprise in a major Hollywood film.... uncommonly freighted with the weight of history."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 518 words, 12/18/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Bigelow proves herself once again to be a master of heightened realism and narrative drive... an example of cinematic storytelling at its most effective."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 886 words, 12/19/12
Dana Stevens, Slate: OUTSTANDING "...a vital, disturbing and necessary film precisely because it wades straight into the swamp of our national trauma about the war on terror and our prosecution of it..."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,299 words, 12/14/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: OUTSTANDING "...mesmerizing, operatic and profoundly troubling... a sweeping and magnificent work of cinematic craft... it holds a dark mirror before us..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,915 words, 12/13/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...rivets for most of its running time... Mark Boal has clearly constructed this as a more journalistic alternative to a generic gung-ho approach."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,161 words, 11/25/12
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "The film's power steadily and relentlessly builds over its long course, to a point that is terrifically imposing and unshakable. Jessica Chastain carries the film..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,519 words, 11/25/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Bigelow proves herself once again to be a master of heightened realism and narrative drive... an example of cinematic storytelling at its most effective."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 886 words, 12/19/12
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...terrific... navigates a tricky, compelling tone, defined by an unsparing strategy that alternates detached restraint with the visceral thrills and frills expected of such fare..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,072 words, 11/26/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...soul-shaking... the most important American fiction movie about Sept. 11... Ms. Bigelow's direction here is unexpectedly stunning, at once bold and intimate..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,565 words, 12/18/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...relentlessly dramatic.... What it does in the course of telling a seminal story of our time is what contemporary films so rarely do, serve as brilliant provocation."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 985 words, 12/19/12
9.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Zero Dark Thirty's reviews are separated by an average 9.4 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Zero Dark Thirty (52 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Zero Dark Thirty's reviews cover 100.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 42,540 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 818 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Zero Dark Thirty Coverage, Volume & Length (52 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 4 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Zero Dark Thirty's reviews on average broke 4 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Zero Dark Thirty's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Zero Dark Thirty (52 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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