Review of Green Zone (2010) by James W — 31 Oct 2013

Paul Greengrass is back in the director's chair and Matt Damon is in the lead role in the Green Zone, a compelling war thriller that I wished I'd seen much sooner, it's unmissable. Damon is Chief Miller, who is on a mission in Iraq to find WMD's only to realise that the intel to the locations where they are being held is false, leading him to question the people he thinks he can trust.

The story is fantastic, it's almost portraying the darker side of war, not what's on the battlefield but what's behind the scenes, the Green Zone is full of intrigue. The characters are believable, between them all there is no trust, only suspicion, leading to confrontation between Damon's character, Greg Kinnear's and Jason Isaacs too.

The performances are brilliant, with support from Brendan Gleeson and Amy Ryan. Paul Greengrass signature camerawork is welcome considering the type of setting and situation the movie is based upon: Gritty, realistic war, and it's very immersive.

Although Greengrass' Bourne films were filled with much more action and excitement, Green Zone goes for tension instead of explosions, intrigue instead of gunfire and confrontation instead of fist fights, but there are some action sequences that are key to the film.

Overall this is a brilliant movie. It is perfect for war movie/Matt Damon fans, and Greengrass keeps the pace flowing, even in the more dialogue based scenes, it will keep you glued to the screen the whole time.