A movie in 100 words or less: Zero Dark Thirty

I don’t know why I waited nearly two whole weeks after the Blu-ray for Zero Dark Thirty arrived at the house to drop into that tray and press play. Part of me wants to blame the fact that the film is two and half hours long, and, well, at my age, ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat.

Which is not, of course, to say that I don’t actually have the time so much as nowadays when I make that kind of time for something, it usually starts around 11:30 pm at the earliest and I nod off somewhere in the middle.

I didn’t want to nod off in the middle of Zero Dark Thirty. I mean, ideally, I don’t want to nod off in front of anything, because, let’s face it, burying one’s chin into his own solar plexus and snoring heavily during the second act of a DVD isn’t exactly a testament to boundless energy and the defiance of the dreaded middle age slowdown.

But, yeah, three times out of five, that’s me anyway. Feel free to call me Middle-Aged Man. I’ll be sure to reply with the adequate level of righteous indignation just as soon as I finish my morning bowl of prunes.

Truth be told, though, with a lot of today’s movies, I don’t feel all that bad when I lose the battle to remain conscious at 1 o’clock in the morning. I’m still not sure G.I. Joe: Retaliation* deserved any of my attention, half-drowsing or not. And I’m pretty sure the fact that I had to rewind the last half hour of Beautiful Creatures had more to do with it than me.

But for some reason, I felt pretty sure I owed Zero Dark Thirty more than that. The past Saturday night, though, even after a hard day of cutting the grass and adjusting the outline for Project Macaroni, I thought maybe I was up to the task. So I pulled the disc from its red envelope, poured myself a beer, and hoped for the best.

Zero Dark Thirty

If you haven’t seen Zero Dark Thirty, Do. It. Immediately, if not sooner. Much of my hesitation came from worry that it might carry too much gravitas—or worse, emotional manipulation—to enjoy. We’ve all been through that emotional ringer already. Instead, it tends to stick to the facts of how a few determined CIA agents (one in particular) ultimately got Seal Team Six’s boots inside that compound on a moonless night in May 2011. The movie is well made and riveting. Even though you know how it ends, you won’t be able to look away when the assault comes.

So, yeah, I see what everyone was talking about now.

And I’m very glad I waited until I could give Zero Dark Thirty the attention (aka, wakefulness) it deserved.

Pud’n

*I watched G.I. Joe: Retaliation last week. I’ll probably do a 100 words or less soon. Maybe. I was…not happy with it.