Review: "Zero Dark Thirty" is the Great War on Terror Epic We Deserve

Upon initial release, director Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty looked like a clear front runner for Best Picture. After winning big with the  New York Film Critics Awards, the film has dispersed a little. After a not-so-stellar performance at the Golden Globes, it has fallen behind titles such as director Ben Affleck's Argo, a film which many cannot help but compare vaguely. Maybe it was the violent subject matter of torture and endless disputes brought forth by former CIA agents criticizing the realism. Then again, what stopped director Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained from losing steam for being a more hyper-violent (and frankly, a little shoddy) story? However, say what you will, but what Bigelow has produced is a masterpiece in the War on Terror genre of film making.

The "Zero Dark Thirty" Trailer Shows a Best Picture Nominee Coming out of Hiding

Up to this point, there has been little knowledge of what director Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty actually looked like. Being touted as "the Osama bin Laden" movie, it has been kept under wraps in ways that reflected the subject matter. The most that had been seen was a teaser trailer in which a voice screams "When was the last time you saw bin Laden?" over and over. Not too effective, but clarified that it was in deed about bin Laden. However, with a full length trailer and some actual plot revealed, does Bigelow's follow-up to Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker stand a chance of continuing to turn current events into big prize winners?