There were movies being made about the Zodiac case even as the investigation was still ongoing. Well, technically, it's still ongoing since the true killer was never officially caught, but at this point most connected to the case have accepted the fact that the Zodiac killer has likely long-since passed on. Still, the fascination remains and will likely continue, America's version of Jack the Ripper.

Set in late 60's San Francisco, David Fincher Zodiac (not to be confused with 2005's The Zodiac) focuses on the obsession of four men to capture the most elusive of killers. The story's focal characters shift in the course of the film, beginning with San Fran Homicide Inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and his partner William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards). When the killer starts sending his coded letters directly to the papers, the San Francisco Chronicle's star crime reporter, Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr.) joins the obsession, at times working with Toschi and Edwards and at others directly against them. The most unlikely member of the Zodiac fold becomes a young cartoonist at the Chronicle named Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal). As the case consumes the Chronicle offices, Graysmith's knack for deciphering codes brings him into the investigation, albeit unofficially. Years after Toschi, Armstrong and Avery have tried to leave the obsession behind, Graysmith decides to quit his job and focus entirely on the Zodiac investigation, a quest he hopes will one day lead to a book about the now infamous case.

Expectations are understandably high for David Fincher's latest movie, regardless of what the subject matter is. He became one of Tinseltown's most respected and anticipated directors after 1995's Seven, and 1999's subversive Fight Club was almost universally loved and loathed, worthy of intense discussion either way. He hasn't released a movie in almost five year's, 2002's Panic Room, a competent enough thriller, but not the kind of original and engaging work people had gotten used to Fincher producing. Zodiac has been rumored and discussed for years, but now it's finally time to let the film stand for itself. Yes, it's true that it is a lengthy work (2 hours and 40 minutes to be exact), but if you find Fincher's direction and purpose as engaging as I did, that time should fly by. This is the director's best work since Fight Club.

What's most interesting about Zodiac is it is essentially a few different stories about the Zodiac killings tied together within one movie. Early on, as we witness the terrifying murders, it's a thriller. Fincher's direction of these scenes employs his trademark expert precision, crafting tension-filled moments that bring a frightening freshness to the murders. One of the strongest moments, where two kids making out by a lake are attacked by the killer, is so simple, yet also so tense and terrifying at once. You cringe watching it and it stays with you. Other kills are simply jarring. They are simple and quick, but they catch the audience off guard. Fincher's skills come through in spades to make this so much more than your standard serial killer movie.

The next portion of the movie deals with Toschi and Avery's obsession to discover who the Zodiac is. Once the majority of press has moved away from the case, these men refuse to let it go. Even Toschi's partner, Armstrong, has moved on, but Toschi always feels as if the Zodiac is almost within his grasp. Mark Ruffalo is great as the true blue San Fran detective; a likable blue collar kind of guy whose intelligence makes it almost impossible for him to accept his failure on such a public case. For Avery, he thrills at the prospect of pursuing the great lead that will catch the killer until the killer himself threatens to come after him. The somewhat unstable Avery winds up taking practice at a shooting range and finding his nights somewhere lost in a bottle. Downey, Jr. excels at this kind of off-the-wall, ego-driven character. He's terrific, providing a cross between colorful intrigue and comic relief.

And this is where Gyllenhaal's Graysmith shifts focus towards his quest to turn the Zodiac pursuit into a novel. Of course, the novel is in many ways also just an excuse for Graysmith to quit his job and focus on his own Jr. Sleuth pursuits of the illusive killer. Gyllenhaal's youthful exuberance gives the case a fresh spin, and even as he traipses over some already well-worn territory and previously pursued leads by this point into Fincher's lengthy work, it works. You route for Graysmith, and even as most already know the ending, you hope that he just might find a way to solve the case. This is Gyllenhaal's most accomplished work of his adult career.

While the length will be a problem for some and I'll admit that there are a few scenes that could have been cut, I was locked into the story from the start. It's not as flashy as some of Fincher's earlier work, but in many ways it also shows a maturity in his vision and promise for the future. Zodiac could have become tedious and it could have become another forgettable entry into the overloaded serial killer movie genre. Instead, it's not only one of the best entry's into the genre, but the definitive movie on the Zodiac investigation.

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