With the Bourne trilogy Matt Damon has proved (together with director Paul Greengrass) that he is a versatile actor that is also excellent in action movies. Greengrass and Damon teamed up again to make Green Zone. They’ve chosen Iraq, shortly after the invasion by the US, as backdrop for their story. Is Green Zone “Jason Bourne in the Middle East” or does the movie manage to create its own identity?
Roy Miller (Matt Damon) is an army officer who is combing through various location to see if there are any WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) hidden there. When he keeps noticing that the locations are not secured (with looters raiding the place) and that there are no weapons to be found, he decides to find out if the informant that delivered the intel was actually giving the right information.
He manages to get into contact with Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson), a CIA agent who is able to tell him more. Despite the new information he still has to keep searching for WMDs. During one of these site visits an Iraqi local informs him that he knows the location of one of the men on the infamous deck of cards. Miller decides to storm the location and it’s the beginning of the search for this leader, but also the truth.
With the Bourne trilogy Paul Greengrass has shown how to film action movies in a realistic and exciting way. This way of filming has had so much impact that you can see the techniques being used in other movies as well. The new Bond films had a lot of similar scenes, shot in the same way. Greengrass sticks to his technique in Green Zone as well, which results in a very raw look.
Because of this look you really get the sense of danger when Miller is walking through the streets of Baghdad, all alone, without knowing what is going to be happening next.
This results in an exciting thriller where you never know if there is danger around the corner and it gives “on the edge of your seat” thrills. Matt Damon is very convincing in his role and impressed me again (as he usually does).
Green Zone is an excellent action thriller that manages to create its own identity. Although the camera work might be similar it is a different movie as the Bourne movies. The action and story are captivating and Damon and Greengrass have managed to make another exciting movie.
Score: 8