Much like the process of squeezing the perfect “nerdle” of toothpaste onto the bristles of a toothbrush, wherein too little can be insufficient for completing the task at hand and too much can get unwieldy, honing in a running time to the ideal number of minutes is a difficult undertaking. Call it the dental hygienist cinematic Goldilocks complex, if you will.

When it comes to the “nerdle” supplied in Zodiac, let’s just say that while the overall expression is satisfying, the quantity is cumbersome. This is not to say that you’re in for more than you can handle; there are truckloads of films with longer running times. However, with Zodiac, its length may scare viewers more than its murderous plot.

Even so, Zodiac is of the same order of what you would expect from director David Fincher. With Se7en, Fight Club, and Panic Room under his belt, Fincher calls for attention in viewing. If you are up for designating three hours of your time to Zodiac, Fincher will meet your expectations in this forceful, well-acted, and sound motion picture.

During the 1960s and ‘70s, a serial killer – by the name of “The Zodiac” – taunts the San Francisco Bay Area authorities with letters and cryptic messages. Lead investigator David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) soon receives backing through columnist Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Based on the books by Robert Graysmith about the real-life Zodiac Killer, Zodiac chronicles the murders, their repercussions, and the fixations that result in an attempt to catch the infamous masked man.

The tagline to Zodiac, “There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer,” speaks volumes. Considering the film is centered more on the investigative process and psychological digression of Toschi and Graysmith rather than the blood and body count, Zodiac is an in-depth glimpse into the lives of the detectives and newspaper people who obsess over the mysterious murders.

Without a doubt, Zodiac provides an up-close-and-personal peek into the hunt for the famed Zodiac Killer. In the process, the audience is vacuumed back into the respective time period to take an active part in the discovery process — short of being asked to pull up a chair in the newsroom. In the process, Fincher’s Zodiac is better and over 60 minutes longer than previous adaptations of the story like The Zodiac Killer (1971), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac Killer (2005, ranked as one of IMDb’s worst of all-time), and Curse of the Zodiac (2007).

Zodiac is the perfect concoction of sweet execution and Fincher-esque eye candy that won’t give you cavities. Never mind the “weighty nerdle;” Zodiac is a dark drama that depicts a factual storyline in the most professional and faultless of manners. If you feel the need to glance at your wristwatch, skip looking at the positioning of the hands and check the brand name. Verify that you are not wearing a Zodiac, return your eyes to the screen, and be sure to watch this entertaining endeavor in its entirety.