Zodiac runs almost three hours in length, but when it's over, you'll find it moved so fast and kept you so enrapt that only three minutes will have seemed to pass. I remember watching Dirty Harry as a boy, which was loosely based on the Zodiac serial killer, but found that particular bad guy to be fairly unbelievable like, this is just a movie, wouldn't happen in real life. That the Zodiac atrocities did occur makes this mesmerizing film that much more compelling -- and maddening. For crying out loud, the cops had this creep nailed multiple times (assuming the script closely follows reality, which, based on the books, I believe it does) and somehow, through either incorrect descriptions of the perp sent over police radio, or miscommunication & lack of evidence-sharing between police departments, or ineffectual handwriting analysis, let him slip through their fingers. Were it not for an amateur detective by night/political cartoonist by day, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (Robert Graysmith in real life), the true identity of the Zodiac would have forever remained a mystery. This movie holds up well under mulitple viewings. Robert Downey, Jr., reprises his role as Julian basically, of Less Than Zero, and mixes booze, self-destruction, and investigative journalism to the max. Don't bother so much with the books, the movie is far superior. ( )