Green Zone (Movie Review)

Rating:

‘Green Zone’ is the army version of the Bourne movies. It’s a full blown political thriller a la Tom Clancy with high octane action. The acting is superb, but the action is relentless. From the tense opening scene, and then for almost two hours, it’s non stop bullet battles, zig-zagging car and helicopter chases, and enough explosions to uncomfortably increase your heart rate and blood pressure! Is it as good or better than The Hurt Locker, another action war drama? No way. But it is definitely more entertaining. 

The plotline is simple and easy to follow: a U.S. Army officer (Matt Damon), based in Iraq, goes rogue when he questions the validity of the Weapons of Mass Destruction he’s been sent to look for.

Paul Greengrass, the director of the last two Bourne movies and United 93, loves that jitter cam. It’s the directing style where the camera jumps up and down at a staggering pace. It works well here and creates a tension throughout the whole film.

The acting is top notch here. Matt Damon is one of the best actors we have today and even in these genre films, he manages to embody credibility and a connection with the audience. You really do immerse self with him in this war and the corruption around him.

Compared to other action war films such as The Kingdom, this is the most entertaining one due to the amount of action the movie possesses, but it also doesn’t match up to the level of substance that The Hurt Locker accomplishes. Green Zone falls apart at the end with the type of Hollywood rubbish that we just detest. Nevertheless, you don’t see this film to see it win awards, but rather for diversion. There, it really works.

For people who enjoy thrillers and action films this movie is a must see this weekend.

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