At the beginning of Paul Greengrass’ new, action extravaganza, GREEN ZONE, we are quickly introduced to Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, played by Matt Damon. Set in 2003 in the days after the US coalition invaded, Miller and his troops are set with the task of going to locations which they are told house weapons of mass destruction. In the opening moments, we watch Miller lead his troops down a narrow alley, towards a building where a sniper is aiming for them. They, eventually, get past the sniper but not without careful planning, swift execution, and a bit of luck. What they find in the building, in the room where the materials are supposed to be housed, is absolutely nothing.
This opening segment establishes very well the painstakingly harsh task set before these soldiers and the payoff involved at the end of that tunnel. Pointless is a hard word for it, but if the shoe fits, as they say. It is with this last outing and coming up empty, along with the three that came before it that we don’t see, that Miller decides enough is enough. Thus begins a film that, despite its awkward sentimentality in many of the scenes and the way in which digs a little too pointedly, it ends up being a very enjoyable action thriller that, if for nothing else, makes you think a little bit.
The first issue that comes from GREEN ZONE stems from how fast-paced and action-driven the film is. We know Miller is a soldier who works hard, but here is a man who would rather do some good than be a brainless cog in a machine. He questions authority. When the opportunity arises for him to investigate a potential meeting of some of Saddam’s higher ups, he steps away from the task he has been handed to follow his own instincts. Why? We are never told.
Point of fact, we know as much about Roy Miller as Jason Bourne knew about himself in the opening of that film. It is this lack of context for this character that never allows us to fully believe in his purpose. Sure, once the action starts, we want him to fight back, we want him to take out the bad guys and run, jump, and shoot with the best of them. But, when it comes time to understand why he is so dead-set on uncovering the truth about the WMDs, we are given nothing.
He simply is, and this could very well be what Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland were going for, a nameless soldier who should have, could have, and did step up when it was found out he and the rest of his country were being lied to. It might have worked better were we given anything about his character outside the war, but we aren’t ever even made aware of if this man is married or not.
Much of Helgeland’s work here is reasonably heavy-handed, as well. There are moments here and there throughout the film that serve as cheap, reaction getters from the general audience. Watching as a group of soldiers and Washington suits are having dinner in the middle of Saddam’s emptied palace as the “Mission Accomplished” footage plays in the background is one such scene. Other moments scream pure Hollywood as people, usually Miller, show up right at the perfect time, usually to take out a bad guy before the bad guy can take out someone important to the story.
Nonetheless, the film serves itself to action more than any, other genre, and even the more chintzy or cliched sections are surrounded by hard-pressing and non-stop action. Greengrass’ shaky camera work, made famous from the second and third film in the Jason Bourne Trilogy, is the best of its kind, always moving, always curious of the action going on around it, but, somehow, never blurred or jumbled. Despite its constant movement from left to right, bobbing up and down as it follows soldiers running down darkened alleyways, it rarely loses you in what is going on. There are pieces here and there throughout the action that lose you just for a bit, especially in an end chase scene that, for me, was served too dark for its own good. Regardless of these moments, Greengrass always has a way of pulling you right back into the middle of the action and without feeling like you’ve missed much of a beat.
And what action it is. Every moment of action, whether you are fully invested in who Miller is, what he is doing, or why, is unbelievable crafted, shot, and edited together. It starts early, and much of the rest of the film is a string of events that lead you from one action piece to the next. It is all absolutely suspenseful, as well. Much of it is aided in Greengrass’ amazing ability to recreate the bombed out streets and palaces of Baghdad, particularly Saddam’s palace, which is beautifully crafted here (much of the film was shot in Spain and the UK). Greengrass and his team spare no detail in the handwork that went into creating these elaborate and complex palaces, and the rubble that remained after they had been devastated.
At the heart of GREEN ZONE is Miller, and, whether we know much about him or not, he is brought to equally believable life by Damon. Damon is becoming a powerhouse actor in action film such as this, and his talents make him just as believable when he is taking on someone in a knife fight than when he is getting into a verbal spar with the film’s, lead, political villain, played by the always impressive Greg Kinnear. Also along for the ride are Brendon Gleeson as a CIA chief and Amy Ryan as a foreign correspondent. Each of them are effective in their prospective roles, even if those roles are a bit, too been-there-done-that. Really? A female journalist covering the action? Not exactly groundbreaking character establishment there, Helgeland.
And so it goes with GREEN ZONE, a film that succeeds on so many levels yet falters on a few others, notable falters that take you out of the story at hand even if ever so slightly. Luckily, even thankfully, Greengrass is always there with a net to catch you after Helgeland knocks you out of the roller-coaster with those moments that have their finger on their nose instead of on the pulse. GREEN ZONE ends up being a grand feast of exciting action, a striking wick of dynamite that holds you in its grasp, even if the frayed ends leave you wanting for more in other departments.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
