American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden

It's funny to see people calling out the 'Bias' in the making of this docu-series. First of all, I really want to clarify that 9/11 happened in their soil. Although there were (and are) subsequent attacks later, this is their version of the truth. Their sentiments, their emotions, and their story of victory.

History is written by the victors. Let's keep that in mind. This series did justice to the events completely and anyone with a far cry of their own version of the truth that they got bits and pieces of, sitting wherever they are, snuggled up, watching/reading everything on 9/11 from various sources, are still far-removed from the ones who witnessed and were in front of the line fighting / making decisions whether on ground or from behind a desk.

I thoroughly enjoyed this POV from National Security, CIA and govt. Officials as these are the ones who don't usually comment but are always commented on! I think Netflix did a really good job capturing their emotions and statements well (Except that sorority lady who annoyed tf out of me with her self-praise).

That being said, a tragedy can have infinite POVs and someone who is truly unbiased would love exploring it all, from different angles, and Netflix brought us one such valuable angle. The ones that have rated this less are the biased ones and that's the irony.

Follows an in-depth look at how the world mobilized to hunt down Osama Bin Laden after his orchestrations of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The documentary itself is pretty good. Too bad that most of the people involved are spekking in an arrogant, annoying way. And the typical 'look how great America is!' seems quite unappropriate. Forgot about all the big failures, before and after 9/11? Failures that costed the lives of thousands of people worldwide.

I only liked the footage and preparations of the actual raid in 2011. Everything else was political and USA propaganda.

As another reviewer noted, there is a pretty obvious theme through the CIA analysts they interviewed for this program, and it's obvious that it isn't terribly reflective of the entire body of CIA analysts.

Were these the only ones that would consent to an interview? Or are these the only ones that have retired and are willing to spill the tea? Did the good ones not have any interest in participating or were these ladies hand-selected to drive some message?

Generally a decent documentary, doesn't offer much that hasn't already been done in previous projects. I would like to have seen a couple of analysts that were a part of running the ops rather than a just a couple from the periphery that are ashamed of the CIA.

And seriously - a drone controller who is talking about how being a VP in her sorority qualified her for the job? Puhh-lease. Who decided any commentary on her background or sorority membership has any relevance to this at all?

"American Manhunt: The Search for Osama bin Laden" is hands down one of the best docuseries I've seen on Netflix. It's not just informative - it's edge-of-your-seat gripping. The storytelling is phenomenal, taking a well-known global event and turning it into something that feels fresh, intense, and emotionally powerful.

The way they structure the timeline, bouncing between past events and the final moments of the manhunt, is done so well that you're never lost, just completely locked in. Even if you know how the story ends, the journey there is filled with suspense.

The editing deserves serious praise. It's clean, sharp, and incredibly effective in building tension. The series seamlessly blends real footage, interviews, and dramatized clips to keep things moving without ever dragging or feeling confusing. Every episode leaves you wanting more - no filler, no fluff.

What I loved most is how it doesn't just focus on the mission, but also gives space to the people involved - the intelligence officers, Navy SEALs, and even those on the emotional side of the aftermath. It's respectful, smart, and powerful.

If you're into true crime, war history, or just love really well-made documentaries, this is a must-watch. Netflix nailed it with this one.

This documentary is based on the manhunt for Osama bin Laden that the USA launched in the early 2000s. It tells the story of a decade on how the USA and all its allied forces helped locate bin Laden. It also talks about the failures and how we failed multiple times before being successful for the first and last time. This documentary has a wide range of cast, ranging from the CIA director to the President's briefer. This original cast (played by the person themselves) leads to an interesting viewpoint on how the issue of neutralizing bin Laden was a hot topic across multiple presidencies and how different organizations played a role in it.

However, I have two gripes with this documentary series. In comparison to this, the movie Zero Dark Thirty shows a more detailed approach to how bin Laden was located and neutralized. This documentary only shows the build-up to the action, but not enough information on the action itself. Additionally, this is a documentary; it would have been great if either President Bush or President Obama could have appeared and shared their views.