As someone who was working (and lived) in lower Manhattan, I have a different viewpoint for this film, just as all people who were living in NYC do when the WTC was destroyed. Everything was much more palpable. As thousands of other people did, I lost a very close friend (an FDNY Captain) who was inside Tower 1. As far as the film goes, I have no thoughts as far as morality and torture issues are depicted. We all know anything just about anything (within reason) would be done to capture and/or kill bin Laden. I do care about the quality of the film goes, as I am a very big fan of Kathryn Bigelow and Jessica Chastain. Unfortunately, I got very tired of seeing Maya write down how many days had gone by, over and over, ad infinitum. I believe many people were miscast. Also, for some reason I cannot really point to, the film just didn't do much for me. Perhaps I was sick of hearing about it., having lived through so much of it, so close to my heart.Other than what I already mentioned, what I remember the most is the burnt plastic smell which permeated lower Manhattan for weeks, and numerous other seemingly innocuous things that only residents who were there can relate to.BTW, bin Laden was killed on my birthday.

I've lived in the Muslim world for years and in Pakistan for a few months. Now some friends came to stay and the one place they decided they HAD to see was the empty plot of land where once stood Osama Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad. Three hours to go, three hours back, some pictures and a story to tell (the movie says the city is 45 minutes drive from Islamabad, but that was back in 2010 - not now!).Once we came back we were so involved with the story of the raid that we had to see Zero Dark Thirty (for the 2nd time for me, 1st for them). The killing of UBL is meticulously reconstructed, but only covers the last 30 minutes of the movie. Most of the story involves a CIA semi-fictional agent who by sheer determination and luck convinces the Agency that Bin Laden can be reached, and that they have a good idea of what men is the key to his whereabouts: Ibrahim Sayed, AKA Abu Ahmed Al-Kuwaiti. Information from detainees suggests Sayed is UBL's courier. Our hero figures that, wherever in Central Asia UBL is, the one thing he is sure to have is a courier. Track him, you get the big Kahuna.The Agency is initially unlucky to believe erroneous intelligence saying Sayed is dead. And then they are lucky to find out he is not dead. With a lot of push from our hero, they allot the resources to find him. It is no easy task. That's my favorite part of the movie. Surveillance technology can find out from where he is calling his family (busy districts in the Punjab), but it is a lot more tricky to follow him in the middle of the crowd to the place where he lives.After tracking Sayed to a VERY suspicious compound in a city the CIA never expected Bin Laden to be, it is time to decide if this is really UBL's residence. But the mysterious inhabitant never shows his face. I don't think he was hiding from CIA cameras, he just knows he is so recognizable. So the decision is left to the higher-ups, to bomb the place, raid it, or just keep waiting for more definitive intel. And that is the part where the Director has to make a dramatic decision. Does she show the President and his top aides deliberating? I think putting Obama, Clinton and Biden in the movie would suck all the air out of the room to the detriment of the focus on the field agents. Leon Panneta shows up, but he is not even named. The final act wrote itself, because it is a documentary-like recreation of the raid.Some reviewers pointed glaring mistakes: the Pakistanis seem to be speaking Arabic instead of Urdu. One part I had to laugh was when a mob stood outside the American Embassy in Islamabad. If you have been there, or anywhere in the diplomatic compound, you know it would never happen.It is hard to make suspenseful a story that unfolds throughout 10 years and involves meticulous collection of intelligence and a lot of false starts. So the movie may feel like a "boring procedural" for people who are expecting normal Hollywood fare. In order to add a personal touch to the main character, she has a fried killed in a highly implausible scene. Otherwise, Maya just remains a stock character you have to fill in the gaps: lonely woman married to her job, always having to prove herself, obsessed with a task her superiors don't want to give priority.Some people pointed out to a big lie of the movie: that torture gave crucial information. I'd point out that it is just a half-lie. Yes, nobody gave useful intel for the killing of UBL under torture. However, keeping terror suspects for years under dubious legal status (say with me - Guantanamo!) paid dividends.

This film has some stand out scenes with brilliant cinematography, good acting, and takes a very unbiased view about highly controversial events- it lets you (largely) make up your own mind about the characters motives, and actions. However, it is drawn out and too long. If you don't mind occasional ups and downs in quality and are interested in the director or the events, then give it a go.

Facts 1993 to 2001 Democrat President Clinton Destroyed the U.S. Defense (U.S. Military, U.S. Intelligence Agencies, U.S. Department of State (U.S. Defense Related Programs, like the U.S. Department of State's very Profitable Foreign Military Sales Program), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and many other U.S. Agencies U.S. Defense Related Programs). Democrat President Clinton "Lost Osama Bin Laden" after the Osama Bin Laden 1993 First World Trade Center Attack.Worldwide the U.S. no longer Funded U.S. Funded "Local" Intelligence Assets, that took Decades for the CIA to covertly Recruit (usually Citizens of the Target Nation), covertly Train, and covertly place into "Hostile" Nations, "Potentially Hostile" Nations, "Anti U.S." Nations, and some "Friendly Nations" (Allied Nations).To Further Destroy U.S. Intelligence (that had been built up by Director of the CIA H.W. Bush, and as U.S. President H.W. Bush) Democrat President Clinton signed into U.S. Law his, No Intelligence Sharing Law, in that U.S. Agencies cannot "Information Share" between U.S. Agencies nor with U.S. Allies Agencies. Translation the CIA could no longer "Information Share" with the FBI, nor could the FBI "Information Share" with the CIA. The CIA could no longer "Information Share" with the Mossad, British Ministry of Intelligence (M.I.). 1998 Democrat President Declared War Against U.S. Ally Iraq, by Demanding U.S. Congress Declare War in his 1998 State of the Union Address "Weapons of Mass Destruction", "Dictator Iraqis President Saddam Hussein" (A Lie, British Style Parliamentary Form of Government), "Murdering His Own People" (another Lie, the Millions of Shia of Iraq (Iranians, that fled Iran after the 1979 U.S.S.R. backed Overthrow of U.S. Ally Shah of Iran), and the Millions of Kurdistanis as Allied to the Muslim Nation of Iran are NOT Actual Iraqis (Arabs, Sunnis), and actually fought against the Actual Iraqis during the Iran Iraq Wars 1980 to 1989 as the Longest Conventional War of History). The Result was the U.S. House of Representatives Declaration of War Against U.S. Ally Iraq, "Iraq Liberation Act of 1998" as the Democrat's "Overthrow of Iraqis President Saddam Hussein, Liberate the Iraqis People, Install A Democracy". This was then followed by Democrat President Clinton's Ordered as Commander In Chief 1998 U.S. Military Operation Desert Fox, as more intensive U.S. Airstrikes and U.S. Cruise Missile Attacks against the Muslims at Baghdad U.S. Ally Iraq, Democrat President Clinton's mistaken ignorant belief that by attacking the Civilians at the Overcrowded Urban Poor Areas of Baghdad Iraq, they would Revolt against "Dictator" Iraqis President Saddam Hussein, Muslims do not play that kind of games and directly blamed those that attacked them, "U.S. The Great Satan", a hundreds of thousands of Innocent Muslim Men, Women, and Lots (too many) Children were Murdered. To Gain Support for Himself, his Al Quada,Osama Bin Laden Declared Revenge for the Murders of the Innocent Poor of Islam, the Muslim Nation of Iran then backed Osama Bin Laden and so did most of the over 1.5 Billion Muslims Worldwide, money from the Mandatory Islamic Tithes from the over 1.5 Billion Muslims Worldwide flowed into Osama Bin Laden's and his Al Quada's pockets.Translation, That's Correct Democrat President Clinton was the CAUSE of the 1993 Osama Bin Laden First World Trade Center Attack, and the Second Osama Bin Laden World Trade Center Attack as the 9/11 2001 Attacks. Just like Democrat President Clinton CAUSED the 2008 Great Recession, by Eliminating the U.S. Laws, Banking Acts of 1933 and 1935, and having Amended the Community Reinvestment Act to cause the Mortgage Crisis, Destruction of the U.S. Defense also caused the Recession of 1998.CIA Operation Neptune Spear After the Osama Bin Laden Second Attack of the World Trade Center, as the 9/11 2001 Attacks, Republican President G.W. Bush tasked the CIA to create a Plan to Locate and Capture Osama Bin Laden. U.S. Army Special Forces Lieutenant General McChrystal and U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Admiral McRaven wrote CIA Operation Neptune Spear. Within weeks after the 9/11 2001 Attacks the CIA with attached U.S. Army Special Forces attempted CIA Operation Neptune Spear and Failed due to Democrat President Clinton's 1993 to 2001 Destruction of the U.S. Defense, the U.S. no longer Funded U.S. Local Afghan Intelligence Assets to assist the CIA Teams to get to "Safe Houses (Locations)", evade the Millions of Afghan Taliban, Locate Osama Bin Laden in a Nation the size of Texas with 2/3rds being Mountains.Democrat President Obama fearing a Failure that would destroy his Political Career (Re Election) "Politically Distanced" himself (again), so the Director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, using the Republican President G.W. Bush Presidential Executive Orders, CIA Operation Neptune Spear, G.W. Bush 2006 Amended U.S. No Assassination Policy, conducted CIA Operation Neptune Spear from a CIA SCIF, not the White House that was only full of spectators.This is NOT a matter of likes or dislikes this is Facts of Actual Written U.S. Laws, U.S. Government Documents, U.S. Congressional Records.