March 11th, 2007 by Brent
Based on the actual investigation of one of the most famous serial killers in history, Zodiac tells the story of how a killer in San Francisco began his killing spree in late sixties.
The film begins with a young couple heading out to a parking lot one late night to "talk". While sitting in their car, another car pulls up, stops for a minute and then leaves. Seconds later, the car returns and parks behind the young couple, blocking their escape. A man then gets out, approaches the vehicle with a flashlight and shoots both the young man and woman. This is our introduction to the Zodiac killer.
Soon after, local newspapers receive three identical letters from the Zodiac, who takes responsibility for not just that killing, but others as well. This sets into motion a famous game of cat and mouse with police as the Zodiac continues to kill and send letters and the police struggle to find any clues. Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), a cartoonish at one of the papers, becomes obessed with the case and takes it upon himself to discover the identity of the Zodiac.
The cast here is wonderful, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downy Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and many others doing a great job as the Zodiac tears each characters life apart through obsession and fear. David Fincher, director of Seven and Fight Club, sets the mood for the film perfectly. Using a mix of very stylized shots that convey the mystery of the Zodiac's attacks and music from the time period, to make you feel like you are there. Though the film's running time is a bit too long, Fincher keeps it suspenseful and interesting for the most part.
Zodiac is a great thriller that will have you thinking about the events even after you leave the theater.
| Quick Review | |
|---|---|
| Plot/Storyline As far as I can tell it remains very accurate to true events and recreates the story of the Zodiac perfectly. |
9 |
| Acting/Characters Great performances from all those involved and they improve as each character become obsessed with the Zodiac. |
9 |
| Visuals/Sound Great music and camera positions set the tone of this time period very well. One of Fincher's best, right up there with Seven and Fight Club. |
9.5 |
| Replay I would like to watch it again purely because it interests me, but because of the long running time, one viewing is probably enough for most people. |
7 |
| Overall Rating: | 9 |
| All scores are out of 10. Overall score is not an average. | |
Comments
king storey
March 14th, 2007 - 3:56 PM
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I agree wholeheartedly with your review here. I probably would've even given the Visuals/Sound a 10. I agree that it's probably not something most people will want to watch again, but it had just the right suspense the first time around to make it a great movie and keep the length of the movie easy to overlook.