During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his team of Army inspectors are dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that threatens to invert the purpose of their mission.
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Reviews
Such a frustrating disappointment
One of my all time favorites.
Crappy film
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
This film started well but failed to captivate me. The closing action sequences film being shot in the dark with shaky cam were painful to sit through. Its no surprise this film lost money.Im afraid this is a rare miss from paul greengrass
In 2003 at the time of the Iraqi invasion, speculators believed that this dangerous mission was a necessity as the military must finally terminate all the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that was once in the hands of Saddam Hussein. In 2010, it was discovered that Hussein wasn't hiding any WMD and the mission came out empty. It's unknown if the information that got to them was misconstrued, a failure or a lack of competence, the speculation was at an all0time high. In Paul Greengrass' "Green Zone", this gripping thriller emanates from Baghdad, Iraq takes us back in the early days of a Coalition invasion where the search for WMD goes underway. Based on Washington Post Baghdad correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekeran's novel, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" and under the penmanship of screenwriter Brian Helgeland we have a brilliant fictional story with scenes that may ring some realism behind it.Chief warrant officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) is a a determined man going into more liberated Iraq in search for these WMD. His frustration worsens due to every location he searches come out empty. Bush Administrator Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) believes that the WMD intelligence does exist and the source of information is from an incognito informant who goes by the name "Magellan". Meanwhile CIA Operative Martin Brown (Brendan Gleason) contradicts that there's no WMD and secretly informs Miller about it. An Iraqi named Frankie (Khalid Abdalla) reports to Miller that a Republican Guard name Al Rawi (Igal Naor) is on the scene. Both Brown and Poundstone want Al Rawi captured for contrasting reasons. As Miller's investigations get deeper he finds himself in an uncompromising position by being tracked down by fellow soldiers.Although a lots of scenes are based off of Rajiv's book it is not a recreation of it. It's purpose is just a backdrop of the scenes but "Green Zone" is completely different story. And while Rajiv freely gives accurate names and leaves nothing behind, Greengrass and Helgeland spruce up their movie with fake names and identities for fear of retribution. If you read Rajiv's book it appears Roy Miller is based off of Monty Gonzalez, Clark Poundstone is really Paul Bremmer and Wall Street Journal reporter Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan) is based on New York Times journalist Judith Miller.In the two hour duration, Greengrass lets the thrill ride takeoff and the intensity and energy never deters. In a nutshell, this is a pretty archaic story about an individual who's on a wild goose chase surrounded by corruption goes out of his way in to unravel the truth. And yes Miller is the protagonist and Poundstone and his sycophants are the antagonists, there's still a plethora of grey areas that come around.The handling of the camera shots during the action scenes are purely satisfying with the in-your-face approach you feel like you're in the middle of the action. The movie camera and the fast-editing can make this film feels like another rehash of the Bourne films Greengrass and Damon have done over the years, with the only difference is that visual indicators has a more coherent approach to it. The visuals are relatively stunning and the score by John Powell adds the ambiance towards the scenes to make it all the more scintillating.Damon famous for his man-on-the-run films (like Bourne) was the right choice for this role and never once does he feel disconnected. Though clichéd, his clean-cut approach is convincing that he was the right choice to play the good guy. Greg Kinnear breaks type-cast here with in role as a corrupt man who's idealism gets the better of him. Brendan Gleason plays a rare creature in the movie industry, an honest CIA operative. Even Khalid Abdalla who was an evil hijacker in "United 93" plays a more sympathetic translator to Mr. Miller who's in the middle of choosing loyalties.What makes "Green Zone" stand out is the way it balances fact and fiction quite proportionately. And even though it seems like it plays out harshly towards the Bush administration, it's quite the misnomer. It's a fictional thriller striving to see how far one will go to see if WMD truly exist. If you're both a fan of political thrillers and fast-paced action films, you're all in for a real treat.
Having absolutely adored the previous two collaborations between star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, I was more than pumped to get hold of this follow-up, a war-based thriller set during the days when the west still believed that weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq. This turns out to be a solid, thought-provoking film; it can't hold a candle to BOURNE, but then it doesn't want to – it's a different beast entirely! Instead, it tackles the complicated situation of American intelligence in Iraq, throwing in seemingly disparate elements like a crippled Iraqi patriot, one of Saddam's top generals, a shady high-level operative and a gruff CIA boss. Once the plot strands come together the film explodes into life, with the last section a pulse-pounding journey through the narrow streets of Iraq with bullets and explosions going off all over the place.Greengrass is in his element with this kind of movie. His direction is sound as ever, with particularly well handled action bits and interesting exposition, too. Damon seems an odd choice at first for the soldiery central role but he turns out to be a god send in the part – very human, very flawed, but a man whose stubborn nature will see him through. There's a trio of meaty supporting roles for the likes of character actors Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, and Greg Kinnear and some very decent turns from the Arab actors as well.As for the plot watching feels a little weird, as in retrospect every viewer will know that there were never any WMDs, so Damon's surprise on discovering this is a little muted. Still, I found the handling of the characters to be particularly moving, especially Freddy and also the general, guys who genuinely love their country and will do anything to see peace restored. Who'd think you'd end up moved by a war-based thriller set during the invasion of Iraq?
Pretty lame. Very contrived, implausible and blatantly left-wing. Starts off well enough, but the more the plot was revealed, the more convoluted, yet ultimately predictable, it became.Direction is fairly poor. Paul Greengrass thinks that waving a camera around makes a film more realistic. It might, but it also makes the audience nauseous, and bored. The action sequences go on forever, and one chase scene had me reaching for the fast forward button (and even then it was boring).Matt Damon does his standard action-man routine, very reminiscent of the Bourne series, and does it well. Greg Kinnear does his usual B-grade bad guy act. Brendon Gleeson and Amy Ryan are solid in their roles.Such a good build-up, wasted on political correctness and left-wing sympathies.