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
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
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
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
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
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 … more
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
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.
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.
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.