Review of Green Zone (2010) by Andy D — 22 Mar 2011

The Bourne team are once again reunited to tell the story of a US soldier investigating WMD sites who stumbles upon a conspiracy involving the government and an Iraqi general. The combination of Paul "shakycam" Greengrass and Matt Damon, playing his usual likeable action man of the people was always going to invite comparisons with their previous collaborations.

It has the same formula of breathless action and convoluted conspiracies, but in this case, despite the larger themes involved the plot seems a lot more simplistic. Failing to address the role of corporate interests and the propaganda "war on terror", Green Zone prefers to point the finger at a faceless, corrupt minority operating outside the purview of the moral majority which always seemed to me to be a bit like providing invisible, intangible scapegoats for the actions of those truly responsible.

The story is obviously told with the aid of 20-20 hindsight and it all feels a bit revisionist but taken as a piece of pure entertainment, it's pretty solid. In other words, if you're a Bourne fan you won't be disappointed; just don't expect any earth shattering insight from it.