So praise first. Bigelow manages to straddle the line between “realistic” and “exciting” in an interesting way here. I think it works better here than the obvious comparison of The Hurt Locker, at least partially because of the real-world connections being so strong.
Ultimately I think the meat of the story about the nitty gritty of what the search for bin Laden was like is actually really interesting. The culmination in the raid itself is a good climax for the story, even though it feels like a bit of a tonal right turn.
However, I just can’t ignore how this movie is basically a love letter to the American right. First, there’s a potent defense of the extraordinary rendition program, rightly criticized around the world and by candidate Obama. Second, there’s the assumption of American military intervention on foreign soil being both just and justified. There’s basically not a conversation there, it’s just assumed.
Going back to the raid, there’s a few moments where the utter brutality of it is on display. This at least feels like an attempt to show the human cost of stuff like this, but in the end it’s all too brief in a movie whose POV characters believe in the Cause of killing bin Laden.
Another movie I have to compare this one to is American Sniper. Sniper is definitely a lot more explicit in its jingoism, but also draws clear comparison of the nationalism of Afghani insurgents and American troops in a way that undermines that. Zero presents no such comparison and so feels completely uncritical.
Overall, I think while the details of the story are somewhat interesting, I don’t think it’s worth sitting through the propaganda.