We discuss 10 Movies like Zero Dark Thirty you must watch. Add these well-recommended and highly-rated films to your watch list.
The film Zero Dark Thirty cemented Kathryn Bigelow as a bona fide superstar director. After the success of The Hurt Locker, which won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, the Point Break director followed up with a film using Mark Boal’s script about the hunt for the most notorious terrorist in the world — Osama bin Laden.
Zero Dark Thirty earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture (yet shockingly omitted Ms. Bigelow for Best Director), and propelled Jessica Chastain to stardom. The second film in Bigelow’s potential Middle East trilogy — Bigelow and Boal have been developing Held By The Taliban based on the story of Bowe Bergdahl for the screen — was a rare critical and financial success.
Bigelow’s partnership with screenwriter Mark Boal has given her career a rebirth, showing her growth as a filmmaker. Since The Hurt Locker, critics have recognized her films for their gripping and thought-provoking exploration of social and political issues based on untold true stories.
Bigelow’s commitment to authenticity and breathtaking cinematography through complex characters’ eyes has been remarkable. In honor of such a distinct style, characterized by gritty realism and the telling of riveting stories based on actual events. Please take a moment to read my list of films similar to Zero Dark Thirty.
10 Movies like Zero Dark Thirty
The Covenant (2023)
Guy Ritchie’s most mainstream film to date, The Covenant draws inspiration from the Afghan translators used during Operation Enduring Freedom. While the United States spent billions on and left as much after their withdrawal, the 78,000 Afghan allies left behind cannot be calculated.
Detroit (2018)
The awards season unceremoniously forgot about Bigelow’s Detroit. The gritty, authentic, fact-based film on the incident at the Algiers Motel during the 1967 12th Street Riot is a jaw-dropping masterwork. Released on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, one possible explanation would be the film’s poor box office showing, falling short of its budget.
Many may argue that Bigelow’s Detroit, working with a script from Boal, is her finest film. Like Zero Dark Thirty, her authentic attention to detail is devastatingly effective.
The Hunt for Bin Laden (2012)
Watching The Hunt for Bin Laden is necessary for anyone who loves Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. Originally airing on the Smithsonian Channel, Leslie Woodhead’s fascinating documentary feature delves into the meticulous story of the greatest manhunt in U.S. history.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
The Hurt Locker vaulted Bigelow into the stratosphere of respected directors. While not based on a true story, the script by Boal was inspired by his experiences as a wartime-embedded journalist during his time covering the Iraq war. Bigelow created a war film right in the middle of the golden age of anti-war films.
Lone Survivor (2013)
Peter Berg’s stirring and devastatingly effective film about Marcus Luttrell’s failed mission to capture a notorious Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah, is a courageous depiction of good versus evil. Featuring an all-star cast led by Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, and Taylor Kitsch, Lone Survivor pulls no punches and delivers impactful blows.
Manhunt (2013)
The Emmy-award-winning documentary follows a group of female CIA analysts who began tracking the notorious Osama Bin Laden well before the tragic events of September 11th, 2001.
Sicario (2015)
The finest depiction of the war on drugs since Traffic, Denis Villeneuve’s powerful, provocative, and riveting Sicario demands repeat viewings for its uncompromising storytelling, where no one gets away unscathed. The comparisons with Zero Dark Thirty are undeniable, such as the strong female leads and the ethical dilemmas that come with counterterrorism.
Spotlight (2015)
Tom McCarthy’s award-winning film Spotlight brought home Oscars for Best Picture and Original Screenplay. The story follows the investigative team of The Boston Globe, known as Spotlight. The script is loosely based on the newspaper’s investigation of the sexual cover-up of Catholic priests in the Boston area.
Ted K (2021)
Tony Stone’s film resembles Zero Dark Thirty’s cinematography and tone. Ted K is the true story of Ted Kaczynski, the notorious Unabomber. The story follows Kaczynski and his ambitions to halt the growth of technology while living a life of solitude in the desolate wilderness of Montana.
Zodiac (2007)
Zodiac, one of the greatest crime films of all time, adapts the fact-based tale of Robert Graysmith’s book (and the update, Zodiac Unmasked). Jake Gyllenhaal plays Graysmith, a political cartoonist who receives encrypted messages from the notorious serial killer. Powerful, transfixing, and even polarizing, Zodiac tells the tale of hunting the most notorious serial killer of all time
Do you have any other recommendations for movies like Zero Dark Thirty? Let us know in the comments below.
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