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A 2010 political thriller directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Matt Damon.
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GREEN ZONE is not a great movie, but is a courageous one that boldly steps in front of the audience with some truths that are sobering: WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) never existed, despite their being the rationale for our declaring war on Hussein's Iraq. What novelist Rajiv Chandrasekran ("Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone") from which the movie is adapted, screenwriter Brian Helgeland (LA Confidential, Mystic River, Taking of Pelham 123) and director Paul Greengrass (the Bourne series of suspense thrillers, United 93, etc) have elected to show us is a moment in time in the fighting in Iraq when one man has the courage to go against the press (current journalism having stooped to an all time low in erroneously informing the public that Bush's concept of WMD was true and stood their ground in Iraq to continue the myth) and the military to seek out the truth from those Iraqis whose words in Washington DC had been ignored.
+3
Chief Miller (Matt Damon) is the resolute hero of the story and his commitment to uncover the truth about WMD is the line of action the movie takes. The 'mouth' of the lies about WMD is in the person of journalist Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) and the dodgy perpetrator of the nose of the press is Wall Street Journalist Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan). There is a man - one Martin Brown (Brendan Gleason) - who knows the truth, and it is his encouragement to uncover that truth that engages the quiet but driven Miller to finish the mission. The idea is to find General Al Rawi (Yigal Naor), the man who in Washington DC told the higher ups that there were no WMD and whose words were twisted to suit the blind ambition of the US Military and Bush, and allow him to tell the truth. Miller's main assist comes from a simple Iraqi citizen 'Freddy' (Khalid Abdalla) who guides Miller beacuse of Freddy's ambition to save his country. Tying the action of Miler's confrontation with Al Rawi with the concurrent video clips of Bush aboard the USS Lincoln announcing to the world that the WMD had been found and destroyed and that the US was victorious in the war makes for movie journalism statement at its best.
There are problems with the film: the unrelenting noise and sequences of fighting without pauses for reflection make the film forget to slip in characterization details that would have helped the story; the musical score by John Powell just doesn't match the action; the rapid edits and the fact that most of the film is an extended nocturnal chase become wearing. But the quality of acting from even the most minor characters is strong and the message of the film is a thunderbolt of information we all need to consider. Grady Harp, June 10
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More Green Zone reviews
The war in Iraq. Why exactly did our country ever engage in such a war…weapons of mass destruction? If one remembers, about almost 7 years ago in 2003, then president George W. Bush stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier declaring “mission accomplished” in Iraq. Well, I’ll get right to the point, you may not like director Paul Greengrass’ (The Bourne Ultimatum) and writer Brian Hildeland‘s “Green Zone” if you don’t agree or at … more
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Pros: The real soliders that participated Cons: concept? The Bottom Line: "The size of your heart determines who wins. Modern day life; let the fury begin. War is hell." ~The Warriors In 2010 director Paul Greengrass joined with writer Brian Helegeland to bring us Green Zone, taken from the book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. … more
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review by BlackSheep.
March 13, 2010
GREEN ZONE Written by Brian Helgeland Directed Paul Greengrass Starring Matt Damon, Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear Freddy: It is not up to you to decide what happens here. GREEN ZONE marks the third time actor, Matt Damon, has worked with director, Paul Greengrass. Their previous work on the second and third “Bourne” films must have been pretty mind blowing because Damon has since vowed never to reprise the role that brought him international fame unless Greengrass … more
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Compliments (26)
While altogether predictable, Green Zone manages to be an engaging thriller nonetheless mainly because of its strong performances. The film boasts a great cast and skilfull direction by Paul Greengrass. The only thing preventing the film itself from being great is the script, which is well-written, but the combination of real life and fiction here doesn't mesh very well and audiences will be left with a fairly disappointing morality lesson that feels fairly contrived. Still, a good thriller. … more
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Up until around 2001 no one knew who Irish up and coming director Paul Greengrass was that is until he directed the second of the three Bourne films "The Bourne Supremacy"(2004) that became the highest grossing film for the series at that point. one of Greengrass' most critically acclaimed films following on the heels of his universally acclaimed "Bloody Sunday"(2002). Three years later Greengrass directed one of the last decades most acclaimed … more
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I found it thought-provoking. Middle son thought it had all been said and done before.
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I thought this movie had great action for a movie that has been labelled as a political thriller. A well scripted blurring of the lines between fact and fiction may offend some viewers, but makes for an interesting story.
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Compliments (3)
Liked Matt Damon in this a lot, and it was entertaining with good action scenes. Not amazing per se, but a pretty thrilling ride. Curious what a military / politics buff would think of how they portrayed the WMD issue. Funny thing to look at it in hindsight.. insane that the country could be so mislead.
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Compliments (3)
Taunt, extremely intelligent and thought provoking "Green Zone" takes the bold and extremely controversial outlines of why American soldiers are still today fighting in Iraq.
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About the reviewer
Grady Harp (gradyharp)
Ranked #43
Ranked #43
Grady Harp is a champion of Representational Art in the roles of curator, lecturer, panelist, writer of art essays, poetry, critical reviews of literature, art and music, and as a gallerist. He has presented … more
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About this movie
Matt Damon reteams with hisBourne Supremacydirector to create a thriller grounded in contemporary politics: the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) travels across war-torn Iraq, pursuing the intelligence he's been given, but every site indicated comes up empty of WMDs. Investigating the source of the intelligence, he finds himself caught between CIA agent Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson,28 Days Later) and politician Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear,Little Miss Sunshine) over the identity of "Magellan," the supposed source. As Miller tracks down an Iraqi general, he ends up further and further afield, facing danger from all sides. It's hard to say which is the greater accomplishment--thatGreen Zonemanages to turn a still-volatile political issue into a propulsive action movie, or that it manages to depict Iraqi people as individuals with a wide range of responses to what's happened to their country. Damon's performance is low-key but effective as Miller tries to maintain some semblance of moral clarity in a circumstance that muddies everything. Also featuring Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) as a compromised journalist and Khalid Abdalla (The Kite Runner) as an Iraqi civilian who gets dragged into far more than he expected.--Bret Fetzer
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Director:
Paul Greengrass
Genre:
Thriller
MPAA Rating:
R
DVD Release Date:
June 22, 2010
Studio:
Universal Studios,
Universal Pictures
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