I went to see Zulu the other night in Paris having never heard of it, but intrigued enough by the cast and the brief synopsis I read at the cinema. It was just after the death of Mandela so I liked the idea of seeing something set in South Africa. First of all- the film had me for the whole time, the premise was intriguing and both Whitaker and Bloom provide excellent tension throughout. It was well paced and fairly unpredictable. The plot here is relatively thin- they start in true film noir fashion with the murder of a girl and follows with the tried and true tradition of jaded detective partners working the case. There is not much more to it than that. However, the film is more interested in the political and social world of Cape Town, and does this pretty well whilst maintaining the gripping action. The characters also are well developed, in particular Bloom as the booze soaked apathetic detective who keeps falling deeper and deeper into the seedy underbelly he's investigating (much like a Raymond Chandler character). I have the hon our of being the first to write a review of this, I also noted that there is nothing yet on rotten tomatoes. So as the first cab out of the rank, this is a well played and watchable flick, it is flawed but with the best of intentions... A good way to spend your night!
