Manhunt (2013)

Manhunt isn't out to settle scores, but explain the laborious process of intelligence gathering. No one here is looking for a citation, but understanding, and that's what "Manhunt" does best, as well as--yes--connect some dots.

What makes this documentary so fascinating are the narratives by many of the CIA analysts, operatives and others who worked in the shadows over almost two decades to lay the groundwork for identifying Islamic radicals and tracking terrorists.

Manhunt goes beyond the actual raid to explore the CIA's culture of intelligence gathering, including the internal debates on Bush-era "enhanced interrogation techniques." Even though we all know how it turns out, this is as gripping an account as you're likely to find.

Manhunt may not have the thrills and chills of a Hollywood feature film about the raid on bin Laden's compound, but you'll come away from a viewing of the film knowing that there is much more to covert operations than midnight raids and state-of-the-art electronic surveillance.

The result is a film that’s dense with information, some of which will be familiar if you’ve paid attention to the news over the last two decades, and occasionally a bit repetitive.

Bogged down at times by moody re-creations (often unforgivably accompanied by the strains of a muted trumpet) and endless footage of Bin Laden, Manhunt is not a definitive telling either. Indeed, its strength lies in its awareness that there is no way to completely tell this particular story.

Far from a complete accounting of how the United States government tracked down and killed its Public Enemy No. 1--even the SEAL raid that ended with his death is hardly mentioned, much less described--this film might be better titled The Spooks Strike Back.