Green Zone is an intense action thriller with some flaws which I'll get into later from director Paul Greengrass who's admirable in making this movie that raises some questions concerning why we entered the war in Iraq. Matt Damon turns in a solid performance as Chief Staff Sergeant Roy Miller who begins to question whether the intelligence they're receiving about weapons of mass destruction are reliable after failing to find any on more than one occasion. Some may believe Damon's just playing Jason Bourne but I didn't think that way. I found him to be very believable as Miller who's fed up with coming up empty handed and sets out to find the truth no matter where it may lead. Damon has proved in films like Invictus, The Departed, The Bourne trilogy, and Good Will Hunting, his talent as an actor. This film is no different. Well done. Greg Kinnear is decent as Clark Poundstone a representative for the Pentagon whose Intel about WMD'S (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq may not be as reliable as he claims it is. I consider Kinnear to be a talented actor and he's good as essentially the villain of the film but I just wish they gave him more to do. Kinnear however still turns in a good performance of a man who will do just about anything to protect the secret surrounding the intelligence that came from a confidential source only known as "Mangellan" about the WMD'S from being exposed. The same can go for Brendan Gleeson who's effective as CIA operative Martin Brown who like Miller begins to question whether or not the Intel about the weapons is true or fabricated by Poundstone. Gleeson's very good as Miller's ally in his quest to find the truth in a hostile foreign land where danger lurks behind every corner. Amy Ryan's convincing as journalist Lawrie Dayne who like Miller and Brown is also after the truth behind the WMD's in Iraq. I haven't seen Ryan in too many films but she continues to prove her talent as an actress with her performance in this one. Kinnear, Gleeson, and Ryan's screen time maybe limited but they're believable as their characters none the less. The rest of the cast including the real soldiers in Millers squad are also very effective and it was a wise move from Greengrass to use actual men from the military for those particular roles. The frenetic action sequences are well executed and paced which felt realistic for the most part. I admit the shaky camera movements did get a bit much at times because you couldn't really tell whats was going on but it worked for the film in a way to give Green Zone a documentary type feel. The 115 minute running time moved at a steady pace so it never dragged for me which some films tend to do like There Will Be Blood and Avatar to name a couple. I can't think of too much I didn't like about Green Zone except some characters (Kinnear, Gleeson, and Ryan) aren't really developed enough and don't have a whole lot to do because most of the focus is on Damon but they're still effective as the characters. Some questions are never answered and left ambiguous which worked for the movie I guess. So overall if you liked The Hurt Locker than chances are you'll enjoy this one too. Green Zone has a compelling story that raises some interesting questions, intense well paced action, drama, suspense, and solid performances by the cast (especially Damon, Kinnear, Gleeson, and Ryan) who make this film worth the time to watch.
Review of Green Zone
