Movie review: "Zodiac"

Unfortunately, almost two weeks passed since I watched this movie, so it is a bit blurry now. I had a week-long business-trip and several commitments after return, so only now I can write a review.

"Zodiac" is 2007 movie I knew almost nothing about, except that it was about serial killer. It turned out that it is one of that long movies based on real events. Movie depicts a stream of killings in 1960s and 1970s, starting with a serial-killer murdering two lovers in a car. There are few more murders in the movie, but most of the movie consists of police following different leads, most of them turning false. There is not much action or tension, nor much clever dialogs. Characters are not super-heroes and they are exactly role-models.

It is fairly precise and detailed movie that stubbornly follows one police and one amateur investigation, without much dramatizing. It is not movie for everybody, but I think anybody can like it if one can get into it. I started watching this movie somewhat late, around 22:00. I was also a bit sleepy, and I expected some hour or hour-and-a-half short movie. Instead, I got a two and a half hours long mastodon. I was first sleepy, but slowly the movie kept sucking me in, keeping me more and more awake.

Movie has a very good production and a very large cast. There are even some stars in it: Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. Rest of the cast is not so know, but not any weaker. Don't expect special effects. Also, there are few disturbing and violent scenes.

As I said, don't expect some happy-ending over-dramatized Hollywood-blockbuster. "Zodiac" is a serious movie, with no message, almost a documentary. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed watching it and I would recommend it to all, except there is no point in that. You have to be surprised and tackled by this movie.