“It’s basically Bourne 4,” my editor told me. I entered the theater ready for Matt Damon to look simultaneously befuddled and badass as he demanded answers from corrupt, ideological government officials. And that’s exactly what I got, plus a heavy-handed, belated punch right in the political kisser.
Roy Miller (Damon), a one-dimensional Army officer, obsessively searches for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, caring little about anything else. (“It’s that simple to me!”, to quote Miller.) Of course, there are no WMDs, so Miller becomes that befuddled badass looking for answers. He tackles traitorous government admins and trades bullets with terrorists, all the while taking advice from Martin Brown (Mad-Eye Moody, err, Brendan Gleeson) on the Trek Towards Truth.
Unfortunately, Green Zone is no Bourne, but more Bourne-meets-Valkyrie: you know how it’s going to end, but you watch it just to see protagonist shoot The Bad Guys along the way. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd’s frenetic camerawork puts you smack in the middle of the physical and psychological combat in Iraq. But this thrilling action, now synonymous with director Paul Greengrass’ style, crumbles without a compelling plot to support it. Greengrass exposes the logic—or lack thereof—behind the war, but his message would have been provocative seven years ago. It’s as if they re-edited old Wolf Blitzer segments with clips from 24 and Damon’s Team America cameo. (If only.)
The Greengrass-Damon duo succeeds once again in delivering a film that will quicken your pulse and make you dizzy. For a deeper, more timely insight into soldiers’ lives, see Ackroyd’s other recent work, The Hurt Locker.
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