Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) is tasked with finding evidence of weapons of mass destruction in post war Iraq. Despite being provided with ‘intel’ from a supposedly reliable, but closely guarded, source Miller keeps drawing blank after blank.
However, Matt Damon’s Miller is no puppet soldier blindly following orders; he possesses enough savvy and mathematical ability to spot when the situation just doesn’t add up and he is not a man who concedes defeat easily. His increasingly awkward questions make his commanding officers squirm uncomfortably whilst attracting the interest of the CIA (Brendan Gleeson), Whitehouse Bureaucrat (Greg Kinnear) and Wall Street journalist (Amy Ryan). As Miller’s investigation takes him deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole and pieces of the murky jigsaw begin to fall into position, it becomes almost impossible for him to be able to tell friend from foe and who is genuinely trying to help him and who would prefer him taken out of the picture.
Review of Green Zone
The film sets a furious pace from the movie’s opening scenes as a frantic camera follows Miller and his team of soldiers as they race through hot, dusty streets trying to avoid sniper fire on their way to investigate a potential ‘weapons of mass destruction’ site. From then on the action doesn’t let up as Miller’s obstinate drive to get at the truth takes him deeper and deeper into the Green Zone and danger.
Anyone who’s seen The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum will be familiar with director Greengrass’s style of keeping the camera up close and personal so that it spins and whirls dizzyingly, even going out of focus in its attempt to keep up with the action. It’s an effective way of making the audience feel as though they’re in the thick of things, but on the big screen at least can also be a bit nauseating. But that's the only downside to Green Zone.
From the moment we meet Matt Damon’s soldier with integrity, Roy Miller, it’s almost impossible not to compare him to Jason Bourne. He’s smart, ruthlessly efficient, conscientious and committed to getting at the truth whatever the cost…and he’s not afraid to take on the big boys.
There are a number of obvious parallels with the Bourne movies and admittedly Roy Miller could be Jason Bourne before he was turned into the perfect fighting machine. But where Green Zone differs most is that Jason Bourne’s quest was in essence quite straightforward. Roy Miller’s isn’t. This is Iraq. There are no easy answers and who the good guys are and who the bad are isn’t necessarily quite as clear cut as it might at first seem. In the green zone there is no black and white, only shades of grey.
The opening scenes supply a clue about the juxtaposition of situation that Miller is facing as he watches chaotic looting, then discovers only ancient bird shit in a site where there are supposed to advanced weapons of mass destruction. His is a situation which, like the Middle East itself, doesn’t fit easily into easy categorisation. This makes Miller's quest to discover the truth both exciting and fascinating.
When you’re trying to makes sense out of the bedlam and the CIA are the source of the most sensible advice, you really know you’re heading up the creek without the proverbial paddle.
Green Zone Summary
Like the underrated Body of Lies starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, Green Zone is more than just a fast moving ride with a high quotient of nervy, edge of the seat moments. It has a salient message about the cack-handed way the United States tends to bulldoze its way into countries whose cultures it doesn’t understand. Green Zone is an exceptionally entertaining thriller, but it’s also one with great chunks of meat on its bones.
My rating: 8/10
Jack Montgomery - Feature writer, guidebook author, copywriter, blogger and photographer specialising in the Canary Island of Tenerife.
Join the Conversation