Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Short Review: Green Zone (Paul Greengrass, 2010)

Green Zone tackles some interesting theories and overall is a conventional and relatively effective anti-war thriller from director Paul Greengrass (United 93, The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum). Utilizing his typical frenetic hand held camera, the chaos in the streets of Baghdad, and the tense action sequences, are well captured and quite engaging, albeit confusing to the eye. It's a pity the narrative itself, which is riddled with disappointing cliches and one-note characters, isn't so memorable. Damon is solid as usual, and Brendan Gleeson provides the best support. Morphing both fact and fiction, controversy has ensued over the films anti-war propaganda, it's portrayal of the American Government and the claims about America's misguided agenda to track down Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) in Iraq. I found it to be bravely honest but really lacking in journalistic integrity, more resembling a level of Call of Duty. However, Green Zone, which I managed to miss at the cinema, but watched recently on DVD, is above average and worth a look.

My Rating: 3 Stars

2 comments:

  1. Good review Andrew but I wasn't a fan. Greengrass has technical flair but the film hardly told us anything we didn't already know. I really didn't find it interesting and the action was uninspired.

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  2. Couldn't agree more Andy, this film especially disappoints when compared to the Greengrass/Damon collaboration that is the brilliant Bourne

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