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It’s almost impossible for anyone to separate the politics of the War on Terror from Katherine Bigelow’s Oscar nominated drama. The film certainly pulls no punches when it comes to the representation of real world events, from the chilling opening using voice recordings from 9/11 victims you know you are in for a rough ride.

First and foremost the film is in no way a glamorised depiction of the hunt for Osama bin Laden or the CIA operatives that carried it out. This is not an air punching salute to the American flag in the style of Michael Bay’s much derived Pearl Harbour. In the opening scenes of the film we are introduced to our main protagonists, our heroes, as they brutally torture a detainee. The camera does not pan away, we do not see a cell door close followed by muffled screams, we see in full the extent of the ‘harsh tactics’ and their effects on the prisoner.

This introduction to Jessica Chastain’s Maya and Jason Clarke’s Dan is bold to say the least. Usual Hollywood fair would introduce these characters within a family setting helping you identify and sympathise with them as the film goes on. Not here. Here we have the opposite effect, for the first third of the film I personally found it very hard to like or root for Maya.

This lack of empathy towards the character could be exactly what Bigelow and writer Mark Boal were going for. By presenting the facts, events and people involved in this story as dispassionately as possible the filmmakers have allowed the audience to draw their own conclusions. Much like William James (Jeremy Renner) from the Oscar winning The Hurt Locker, some audience members will consider the protagonist a hero others will consider her a dangerous and often arrogant anti-hero.

As the plot slowly unfolds it would be very easy to get lost in the technical jargon of the CIA characters as they meticulously sift through information, set up meets with informants and follow paper trails. However by keeping the focus on a central lead in the search (which Maya becomes personally obsessed with) Bigelow keeps a clear narrative that helps to tie together an incredibly complex manhunt with the tense final raid at the films climax.

The Hurt Locker proved Bigelow’s talent for building suspense and that talent once again shines her. The fact that the audience knows how events play out and is still on the edge of their seats during the films infamous finale is testament to the skill of the filmmaking on show.

Above all Zero Dark Thirty‘s greatest achievement is that it captures the essence of the War on Terror. From the minute details of intelligence gathering to the world changing horrific events that took place, Bigelow shows a sensitivity and frankness that will see the film endure as a drama documenting zeitgeist of the post-9/11 world. I saw the film in a small screen at a cinema less than 10 miles from the centre of London. When the image of a red double decker bus along with the date 7th July 2005 appeared on screen you could feel the atmosphere in the room change. The War on Terror continues to effect the lives of millions in one way or another. In Zero Dark Thirty audiences all over the world have an intelligent, honest and at times brutal thriller which will provoke debate and discussion for years to come.

I don’t know if you noticed this or anything but you feel like shit. Yes you! Why? Because you’re sticking that Grade Z moo cow hoof down your gullet, washed down no doubt with a tasty beverage of sugar cubes, mystery-diroxideX and Unobtanium. You sir/madam are a disgrace. Before you ask, I myself am Olympian like in spectacle. The gym my Elysium. A strawberry/passion fruit/blueberry smoothie? Ambrosia. Excuse me a moment the pizza man is here…

Right, now that’s out the way – Forks Over Knives is the brainchild of writer/director Lee Fulkerson whose previous credits appear to be mostly US Air Force and combat documentaries. Here he turns health crusader after being diagnosed with high-everything and potential-whatever’s. Pursuing a new lifestyle free from manufactured or butchered products he presents us with testimonials about how we all can live healthier. We see interviews with doctors, politicians and patients who swear by their all plant based diets; weight loss, diminishing diabetes and improved flexibility are all attributed to the plants.

Drawing from primarily American examples, we are given stats about how much we spend on prescription pills to battle food related disorders, how much the US spends on take out and so on. In contrast Japan in the 1940’s (not so much now since McDonalds came to town) was a beacon of healthy living where the very notion of degenerative heart disease was a nonsense. All to do with diets.

With the tagline: Warning – This Film Could Save Your Life there is no question that Forks Over Knives is a documentary with an agenda – although saying that the vast majority of them do. Fortunately for us it is not a fiercely tyrannical one where the director continually screams in our face “No. You’re doing EVERYTHING wrong”. Faulkerson’s style is more of a prodding kitten looking for some attention. In fact the film has such a non-nondescript flare to it it could be a science class video. There are no bombastic montages set to a Black Flag tune. No preposterous stunts to get in the press and no real conflict to speak of (other than our common enemy – DEATH). In a way this films feels very out of date.

The content, admirable as it is, is hardly earth shattering. We know burgers are bad and a purely veg based diet is probably going to do you more good. Yes we shouldn’t be popping pills. We should go hiking instead. We don’t really need to be told this, we’ve made our greasy beds and we shall lay in them. Doctors and talking heads go one step further claiming that a life free from dairy and based solely on plants has breast cancer and type 2 diabetes. The most intriguing notion, is the government sponsored “fact” that you need cow milk to build up calcium. The film attests that over time it does more harm than good. The accusations/revelations of government propaganda and the food industry are as alarming as they are interesting.

It’s hard to dislike a film that’s intention is to try and per-long our grumpy, sarcastic lives. However the lack of a two sided argument hurts the film somewhat. You could say that we hear the other side of the argument in our daily lives, but a few more dissenting voices within the film would broaden the discussion.

As it is it seems a fluke, perhaps even dangerous to show us a story of a woman who recovers from breast cancer by eating her veg and exercising. Surely this method doesn’t work for everybody. Informative for the most part, downright obvious in places and told as dryly as a plain Ryvita but with it’s heart in the right place Forks Over Knives makes a worthy addition to the food doc genre.