Wednesday, January 16, 2013

SEAL Team Six vs. Zero Dark Thirty

          I watched SEAL Team Six, as it went straight from the National Geographic Channel to Netflix. I haven't yet seen Zero Dark Thirty, as it's only in theaters.
          But, it's curious to see the various differences.
          Zero Dark Thirty is an Oscar contender (5 nominations) with some backlash (including from senators such as John McCain) for graphically portraying that brutal torture was necessary method to find bin Laden's location. It has (just) a few more "big" names on the cast and crew and a decent amount more violence, even with the torture scenes aside. Overall, it's well-reviewed, but it faces many questions about accuracy, and seems to bring up the whole debate over torture to the viewers to the strongest degree since Rendition.
          SEAL Team Six, while a TV-movie, is also a dramatic historical film, but it strives more for a mockumentary format that potentially focuses more on the personal lives of relationships between the team itself. While there is no "torture scene" and the violence is tame, I thought it still did well to portray the team and their mission with a convicting and realistic intensity. Others didn't give as positive a review, partially because of its aforementioned tameness, but also because of its suspicion to be a "pre-election surprise" plug for President Obama (who doesn't get that much footage in the film).
          Anyone seen Zero Dark Thirty? And SEAL Team Six? Thoughts?      

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