Green Zone

Director, Paul Greengrass, has been behind many interesting films in recent years with historical type productions as Bloody Sunday, United 93 and Captain Philips, as well as action-packed Bourne films. In 2010 he would combine his documentary style on real-life events with the Jason Bourne theatrics in Green Zone as he explores a US army officer's hunt for WMDs in 2003 Iraq only to soon realise there aren't any. 

Matt Damon reunites with Greengrass as the army officer who finds himself caught in a political battlefield and has to go rogue in order to expose the dirty tactics used by his own countrymen during the war in Iraq. The film was sold as Bourne in a warzone and while there are several sequences that support that, Greengrass is far more interested in exploring the figurative tug-of-war amongst the US forces that forms the basis of the story. 

Greengrass has always been a director I've enjoyed following, even in his weaker films like the unnecessary 2016 Jason Bourne flick, and his setup for Green Zone had me engaged from the start but there's something amiss here that left a disappointing aftertaste. Damon makes for a solid lead as the dedicated solider, Greg Kinnear is perfect as the slimy US official and Brendan Gleeson is suitably scruffy as the downtrodden agent trying to help prove there aren't any WMDs. The cast is great but the story is just too messy to easily engage with despite Greengrass' often reliable direction and Igal Naor's general lacks much in the way of development to make for an intriguing antagonist. 

What will save Green Zone is the overarching story about America's involvement in Iraq and it does make for a fascinating backdrop. The action sequences are also thrilling to watch, even if they're not the most memorable, and Damon's reliable performance kept me onboard through the efficient 100 minute running time but the story needed more at the end to make it feel worthwhile. There is a neat confrontation during the reshot third act to give the film a little more substance but it can't save this from being one of Greengrass' weaker efforts. 

The exciting visuals, interesting themes and talented cast can't quite hide an intriguing idea that perhaps needed a few more drafts in the development room. It is worth a watch for anyone interested but I'd advise going in with low expectations and you might come away satisfied.