web analytics
Green Zone 2010 Movie Scene Matt Damon as Miller in Iraq looking for WMDs

Green Zone [2010]

Welcome back to the Middle East folks, a place where something is always going on. And that something is almost always US military intervention causing immense suffering and pain. After all, the military-industrial complex has to sell those weapons to the imperial government, one way or another. The movie we’re going to be talking about today belongs to a specific subgenre. We will talk about it a bit later. For now, let’s focus on the important things. Green Zone is a thriller starring Mat Damon and takes place in the Middle East, Iraq, to be more precise.

It’s about Roy Miller, a US Army officer looking for weapons of mass destruction who’s going to end up in a lot of trouble after refusing to play ball. The story is based on true events, as documented in a non-fiction novel Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran. I also want to mention the fact that the real Roy Miller was actually called Richard “Monty” Gonzales and he was a special consultant for this movie. However, after it came out, he trashed it with his opinion piece in Fox calling most of it “a work of fiction”. However, however, I think either someone got to him or he’s simply biased concerning this matter.

I’m not talking about his personal experiences but the overarching narrative regarding the invasion of Iraq. At this point, I think there’s no doubt that the whole thing was one big corrupt bullshit money-grabbing effort. You can start your exploration of this topic with a highly underrated 2003 thriller also based on true events Shock and Awe. While it can be classified as a war movie, in reality, it’s actually more of an espionage thriller complete with CIA involvement. As such, it’s comparable to Body of Lies, another big-budget thriller with almost the same vibe. However, this is not another Jason Bourne movie despite Damon’s involvement.

I have to say I was expecting more from this premise. Green Zone is just okay, worth watching probably just once or twice. The storytelling was a bit messy and I feel like they didn’t know what to do with it. I think that despite the potency and the realness of the story, it’s quite hard to make it into an engaging movie. Moreover, the camerawork was just annoying. Yup, a shaky hand-held camera is about to almost ruin most of the scenes. It was supposed to make the movie feel gritty and realistic. Instead of that, we got something that looks cheap and almost amateurish.

Which is a shame because Paul Greengrass is a great director who honed his skills as a cameraman in real war zones. You can feel what they were trying to do but still. After all of this, some of you might be considering not watching this movie. As I said, despite all of its flaws, Green Zone is still worth watching. The sheer insanity of what’s going on here should be enough to keep you interested. And if that doesn’t work, the cast did an absolutely terrific job. We’ve got not only Damon but also Brendan Gleeson and unfailingly awesome Greg Kinnear in a role we rarely see him in.

Green Zone was shot in Spain and Morocco, both of which doubled for Iraq quite nicely. All the locations seemed authentic enough. And dare I say exotic. I know we’re talking about real human lives here and everything but I have to admit that I love these thrillers taking place in the Middle East. So, if you’re looking for movies like this do check out The Kingdom, Kandahar, The Hurt Locker, and The Covenant.

Director: Paul Greengrass

Writers: Brian Helgeland, Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Cast: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear, Yigal Naor, Khalid Abdalla

Fun Facts: Most of the soldiers in Matt Damon’s unit are actual army veterans. One of them, the gunner on top of their Humvee is is Falluja vet Marine Michael J. Dwyer. He accidentally got the role after he stumbled upon the audition while signing up for a veteran’s organization.

Rating:

IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947810/

YouTube player