'American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden' review: Riveting retelling of a dramatic catch

Everyone probably knows the story of how the US hunted Osama bin Laden. There have been numerous retellings in the form of books and films about the details of his dramatic killing.

Still, ‘American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden’, the three-part documentary series on Netflix, is watchable for several reasons. It’s riveting and told well, and it’s packed with firsthand details from the people who were actually involved in the mission. Besides, it seems relevant right now because it’s ultimately not about just one man but about the global ramifications of terrorism and the extraordinary lengths nations will go to for justice.

While ‘American Manhunt’ shares a thematic ground with the multiple-Oscar-winning film ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, being a documentary, it offers undramatised accounts from the many players that led America’s intelligence and tactical operations.

The series begins, fittingly, with the haunting images of the morning of September 11, 2001 — just moments before the twin towers fell. As the documentary reminds us, most of us remember exactly where we were when the news broke. An oddly poignant anecdote from that morning is included: President George W Bush was in a Florida elementary school, about to read a story about a pet goat with a group of kindergarteners when he was informed of the attack. One of the strengths of the documentary is that it goes beyond the drama of the manhunt to highlight the psychological toll on the intelligence personnel involved. They were haunted by the awareness that there had been enough intel in the preceding months to indicate there was going to be a big strike. And yet, the al-Qaeda had managed to get away with the biggest attack on the US.