I missed "Green Zone" when it hit the big screen which was a surprise to me given that it stars Matt Damon and was directed by Paul Greengrass...two men I admire hugely for their abilities in front of and behind the camera.
"Green Zone" is an adult, intelligent and thrilling thriller...everything that people claimed "Inception" was but which it wasn't.
Where Chris Nolan hid behind expensive special effects and a soundtrack that drowned out any dialogue Greengrass has crafted an entirely believable film about the search for WMD in Iraq. With rogue CIA agents, dodgy dossiers, flawed intelligence and sneaky government officials this could have been a documentary about the "true" story of the Bush regimes foreign policy.
Damon again shows himself to be an actor with real chops, delivering a performance that is never anything less than convincing and that allows you to lose yourself in the completely alien surroundings of Iraq and the military. The action sequences are always necessary and never feel tacked on...and all shot in Greengrasses trademark hand-held "shakeycam" style which works perfectly given the plot and surroundings.
A film like "Green Zone" is exactly what the critics always tell us that they want...intelligent and entertaining; yet when given exactly that they ignore it in favour of something turgid and moronic like "Inception". Tragic.
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