Green Zone

If, after watching the preview for Green Zone, you thought that Matt Damon’s character bore a striking resemblance to his alter ego, Jason Bourne, you’d be right. But though he has many similar characteristics, Roy Miller (Damon’s character in Green Zone) adds an interesting feel of patriotism that gives the film much of its action and underlying motivations.

Green Zone is yet another film that addresses the debate of the War in Iraq and the conflicted opinions of both Americans and Iraqis on whether or not the United States should have interfered.

The film centers around Miller, an Army Chief, who has the task of taking his team to sites which are suspected to have weapons of mass destruction. The team’s objective is to disarm any threats, but we learn early on that the issues are more complicated than they seem.

The Army has been receiving faulty intelligence, and every site that they visit comes up empty for WMDs. Though no one else will talk about it, Miller suspects that something is up. When he attempts to bring it up to higher ranking officials, they insist that he keep silent about the issue and follow orders.

CIA agent Martin Brown suspects something is wrong as well, but most of the other officials involved describe him as washed up and tend to disregard his advice. Brown gives Miller his card and encourages him to share any information that he comes across. They end up working together on a bit of a rogue mission to bring the truth to light.

In the power hungry role as a Pentagon official is Greg Kinnear playing Clark Poundstone. Poundstone wants to keep American dominance in Iraq by getting a leader for the country who is close friends with the United States. It’s clear early on that he is manipulative and that he is definitely hiding something.

The film goes back and forth between Miller and his team trying to find WMDs and important government officials trying to fix the state of Iraq. But soon the two issues merge when Miller finds an important connection between Poundstone and some of Saddam Hussein’s high ranking officials.

The actions the follow feature Miller trying to figure out the truth and expose it before Poundstone can eliminate the evidence or get rid of Miller. With the help of an Iraqi civilian who tips him off about the whereabouts of certain Iraqi leaders, Miller takes his team on a frantic mission throughout the city of Baghdad that involves stealing evidence, illegally questioning witnesses, and even getting kidnapped.

Making an appearance is Amy Ryan as a reporter who is desperate to get to the truth in order to promote her career.

Though Green Zone is similar to other movies about the Iraq War, like The Kingdom and Body of Lies, it is still very intriguing. And the focus on Miller’s fight to expose the truth, even if it means making officials of the United States look bad, shows the desperation of the soldier who doesn’t know what he’s fighting for.

The movie is certainly action packed with a lot of bombing and shooting as well as fist fights, which is where Damon’s skills from playing Jason Bourne come in. It is directed by Paul Greengrass, the director of both The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Though it becomes very apparent as to which way the plot will take you, Green Zone keeps you on your seat until the end of the movie wondering who will survive the destruction in Baghdad and if the truth will eventually come out.