--- title: Zero Dark Thirty: Navy SEALs Depiction Is Accurate and Celebrated description: As this week's TIME cover story details, the movie Zero Dark Thirty has unleashed a controversy over the extent to which torture, or "enhanced interrogation... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7132407/why-zero-dark-thirty-is-not-your-usual-hollywood-fare/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-01-24T13:01:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T09:20:59.819Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why "Zero Dark Thirty" Is Not Your Usual Hollywood Fare og:description: The depiction of Navy SEALs was deadly accurate — and should be celebrated. og:url: https://time.com/archive/7132407/why-zero-dark-thirty-is-not-your-usual-hollywood-fare/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c493d5ec45e7378/698a9176c9e9414ca712365a/zero-dark-thirty-joel-edgerton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: zero-dark-thirty seal og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why "Zero Dark Thirty" Is Not Your Usual Hollywood Fare twitter:description: The depiction of Navy SEALs was deadly accurate — and should be celebrated. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c493d5ec45e7378/698a9176c9e9414ca712365a/zero-dark-thirty-joel-edgerton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) # Why "Zero Dark Thirty" Is Not Your Usual Hollywood Fare > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=23ec9c84-5928-49cd-949b-3fbbbd8201d5&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 24, 2013 1:01 PM UTC  Joel Edgerton as squadron team leader Patrick in Zero Dark Thirty Joel Edgerton as squadron team leader Patrick in Zero Dark Thirty Columbia Pictures by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 24, 2013 1:01 PM UTC As this week’s [TIME cover story](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2134499,00.html) details, the movie _Zero Dark Thirty_ has unleashed a controversy over the extent to which torture, or “enhanced interrogation techniques,” were used in the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden. While I can’t comment on the veracity of the movie’s portrayal of how that investigation unfolded, I can say that the depiction of the Navy SEALS preparing for the raid on Bin Laden’s compound and conducting the mission was quite accurate. **(MORE**: [Is Washington Overreacting to Zero Dark Thirty?](http://wp.me/p1RTSY-7d3)) To start with, the actors who portrayed the SEALs themselves definitely received some expert guidance in capturing the mentality of the “team guy,” from their light-heartedness while waiting for training to begin to the relaxed quiet that came over them after boarding the helicopter to set off on their mission. The mood on the helicopter was almost serene, but this was not dramatic license. That’s what it’s like on real missions. Some SEALs catch a bit of sleep, some pray, some go over mental check lists about the breaching that may have to be done, the layout of the residence, or the possibility of a quick reaction force coming up on them during the raid. They seemed somewhat nonchalant, but these guys were more than ready as they had conducted hundreds of similar raids. (**MORE:** [Seven Secrets of _Zero Dark Thirty_](http://entertainment.time.com/2012/12/17/seven-secrets-of-zero-dark-thirty/)) Once the team landed at the compound, the filmmakers continued to be very accurate. They revealed many of the basic SEAL tactics but did not disclose any sensitive information to the public. The handling of the downed helicopter, for example, as well as how “non-threats” (women and children) are treated was very real. Even placing two shots in every dead target to confirm a “kill,” getting facial photos of Bin Laden, and finally collecting all the intelligence including files, laptops, and hard drives was dead-on accurate. In the end, for me, _Zero Dark Thirty_ shows the might and reach of the U.S. military and especially the Navy SEALs. Amidst all the debate, let’s not forget how impressive it is that a handful of commandos could conduct a raid of this magnitude and return without any casualties or real complications. And that wasn’t just a Hollywood ending. **MORE**: [Read TIME’s cover story, “Art of Darkness,” by Jessica Winter](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2134499,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7132407/why-zero-dark-thirty-is-not-your-usual-hollywood-fare/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7132407/why-zero-dark-thirty-is-not-your-usual-hollywood-fare/"},"headline":"Why \"Zero Dark Thirty\" Is Not Your Usual Hollywood Fare","datePublished":"2013-01-24T13:01:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T09:20:59.819Z","description":"As this week's TIME cover story details, the movie Zero Dark Thirty has unleashed a controversy over the extent to which torture, or \"enhanced interrogation...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7132407/why-zero-dark-thirty-is-not-your-usual-hollywood-fare/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c493d5ec45e7378/698a9176c9e9414ca712365a/zero-dark-thirty-joel-edgerton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c493d5ec45e7378/698a9176c9e9414ca712365a/zero-dark-thirty-joel-edgerton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"zero-dark-thirty seal","caption":"Joel Edgerton as squadron team leader Patrick in Zero Dark Thirty","creditText":"Columbia Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7132407/why-zero-dark-thirty-is-not-your-usual-hollywood-fare/","name":"Why \"Zero Dark Thirty\" Is Not Your Usual Hollywood Fare"}}]}] ```