There’s been a big debate here over whether waterboarding is effective, and/or actually dangerous. It’s come up because in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunting and killing of Osama bin Laden, a prisoner is waterboarded at the start of the movie by a US agent played by actor Jason Clarke. And that wasn’t just a Hollywood ending.‘Waterboarding’– a form of torture used by the US military on captured suspects and criminals accused of terrorism–has been much debated here in this space. Amidst all the debate, let’s not forget how impressive it is that a handful of commandos could conduct a raid of this magnitude and return without any casualties or real complications. In the end, for me, Zero Dark Thirty shows the might and reach of the U.S.

Even placing two shots in every dead target to confirm a “kill,” getting facial photos of Bin Laden, and finally collecting all the intelligence including files, laptops, and hard drives was dead-on accurate. The handling of the downed helicopter, for example, as well as how “non-threats” (women and children) are treated was very real. They revealed many of the basic SEAL tactics but did not disclose any sensitive information to the public. Once the team landed at the compound, the filmmakers continued to be very accurate. ( MORE: Seven Secrets of Zero Dark Thirty) They seemed somewhat nonchalant, but these guys were more than ready as they had conducted hundreds of similar raids. Some SEALs catch a bit of sleep, some pray, some go over mental check lists about the breaching that may have to be done, the layout of the residence, or the possibility of a quick reaction force coming up on them during the raid. To start with, the actors who portrayed the SEALs themselves definitely received some expert guidance in capturing the mentality of the “team guy,” from their light-heartedness while waiting for training to begin to the relaxed quiet that came over them after boarding the helicopter to set off on their mission. The mood on the helicopter was almost serene, but this was not dramatic license.

(MORE: Is Washington Overreacting to Zero Dark Thirty?) While I can’t comment on the veracity of the movie’s portrayal of how that investigation unfolded, I can say that the depiction of the Navy SEALS preparing for the raid on Bin Laden’s compound and conducting the mission was quite accurate. Follow this week’s TIME cover story details, the movie Zero Dark Thirty has unleashed a controversy over the extent to which torture, or “enhanced interrogation techniques,” were used in the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden.

Actors in the movie zero dark thirty