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 and most controversial films "United 93"(2006) based on the true story of the heroism of the passengers and there tragic death when they forced the plane into a nose dive causing it to crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The film was a massive critical success but meet with extreme criticism form audiences alike over its touchy source material. The year after Greengrass and actor Matt Damon re-teamed to star and direct the third(and possibly final installment) of the hugely successful Bourne series with the "Bourne Ultimatum"(2007) which proved to be the highest grossing and biggest critically acclaimed hit of the series bringing a crashing final close to the saga of Jason Bourne. For nearly three years Greengrass was working on a new project that while may lack the enthusiasm of his early works is no less thought provoking or thrilling as his earlier works. This film is one of his best and a film that not only gives you the views of why we go to war but if the reasons we do go to war are really for the right reasons.
When I first heard of Paul Greengrass' "Green Zone" back in late 2009 I can say that I was extremely excited to see Greengrass and Damon back together again making a big action picture again I could almost picture how this film would have played out in my head(no thanks to my limitless imagination). I saw Damon playing a solider fighting against another Government conspiracy involving some sort of political assassination or cover up that he exposed. I was eager with anticipation however, when I found out the release date of this film my anticipation dwindled. It dwindled not because I found out the film might not be as good as it appears but it dwindled because I would have to wait three months into 2010 to see one of my most anticipated films of 2010. After nearly two months of waiting I finally was able to see Paul Greengrass' "Green Zone” and let me tell you there is more to this film than meets the eye. "Green Zone" is a political war thriller set during the early days of the Iraq War where a lone solider named Roy Miller (Matt Damon) slowly pieces together that the reasons he and his fellow soldiers were sent to Iraq may actually be false. Miller sets off on a mission to exposes the lies behind the real reasons he was sent to war. "Green Zone” is as intelligent as it is thought provoking it is the kind of film that classics are made from and this film is sure to become a classic in time. What makes "Green Zone" so effective is not who directed it or who wrote it, or who starred in it but how it plays out and how it imparts its message to the moviegoers if you do not feel like there is something else there besides action you leave the movie feeling unfulfilled and disheartened. Wishing you had spent your money on something else except this movie is not that kind of movie. It is the kind of movie that when you walk out your saying "Wow!" instead of "That could of been better.” "Paul Greengrass' intense, bold, and gutsy political action thriller doesn’t pull any punches or any stops in one of the years most under appreciated films.
What I think is most impressive about this film is not its energy but its story the story in a film is one of the many ingredients to a great film and this one has one hell of a story. While some may find the story a little, to familiar and others may just flat out hate it, there may be a few that may find this film fresh, thought provoking and original, which is how I stand when it comes to this film. "Green Zone" is an engrossing experience from the flashy opening scene to the politically infused climax Paul Greengrass' tense war drama does not disappoint for a minute and it you never know this film may change how you view the reasons we do go to war.
Matt Damon has always been one of my favorite actors from during his early years up into until only making a few not so great films in between and those are in short supply when it comes to Damon. In "Green Zone" Damon gives a more restrained and emotionally distant performance that he has in the past I can say that it is most like how he played Jason Bourne in the Bourne trilogy and then it is not. Damon's performance is much like how a solider would act very restrained in control Damon's character Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller is an extremely intelligent character. With Damon as his host the character just seems to flourish under the grit and grim of this film hostile nature and so does Damon. This movie works only because Damon is as capable an actor as he is and if it were anyone else in the part it would not have felt as convincing or as powerful as it did. It may not be the finest work Damon has done but I can say this it is one of his best performances to date. The rest of the cast including Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Khalid Abdalla, Brendan Gleeson, Said Faraj, Antoni Corone, Igal Naor, and Amy Ryan all turn in fantastic supporting performances in this no holds bar thriller.
Upon its initial release "Green Zone" fell under heavy controversy for its themes that the reasons America invaded Iraq was under false pretenses concocted by the C.I.A. Paul Greengrass' film has been called un-American, politically inaccurate and the list goes on and on and on. However, I don't think that at all I think "Green Zone" is like many books that have controversial themes(naturally I am not going to open that can of worms) it makes a statement and stands before the judge and juror defending it. In this case, the judge being the critics and the juror being the moviegoers, this film was pardon by the judge but was sentenced to two life terms without the chance of parole by the juror. What I mean by that is that this film met with favorable reaction from Critics but did not fare to well with audiences, as it was a massive domestic failure. Only generating 30 million dollars and it did not fare well over seas as well only being able to generate 96 millions dollars worldwide making Paul Greengrass' "Green Zone" a box-office disappoint. “Green Zone" however, comes out a winner despite its failure to generate money this is one hell of a war film and a movie that deserves to be called great.
