When it was announced that neither Paul Greengrass nor Matt Damon would be continuing the 'Bourne' franchise, I surprisingly breathed a sigh of relief. Greengrass had, in my mind successfully completed an incredible trilogy. Adeptly begun by Doug Limon, Greengrass then took the remaining two Bourne's: 'Supremacy' and 'Ultimatum' and turned them into two of the best thrillers of the new millenium. Obviously the new and improved Bond films have a lot to owe to him, but almost every other action thriller took a page out of Greengrass' book and created intelligent, yet down and dirty spills to go with their popcorn thrills; gritty movies for gritty times. So they simply could not top them, I thought. 'Ultimatum' was resolved perfectly and to continue the character would reek of cashing in and selling out. Then 'Green Zone' was announced and with that, the reuniting of director and star. We saw the trailers and everyone assumed the same: Greengrass has gone and made his sequel anyway; 'Bourne goes to Iraq'. On seeing the film however, and it is plainly obvious that Greengrass, while retaining his style and technique that is unmistakingly his, has not sequelised his illustrious spy. Greengrass is too smart and talented for that. However, who could have predicted that a film released only a few short months before would be the one in which Green Zone shares so much in common? Can it come out of the mighty shadow of 'The Hurt Locker' and estabish itself, in its own right, as a decent piece of intelligent action cinema, while commentating on the effects of the War in Iraq?
Set in 2003, the film stars Damon as Chief Sgt Miller. He has been actively and loyally been looking for WMD's with his team. Out of three missions they are coming up with nothing to show for it. Questions are being raised and none are being answered. Miller decides to dig deep into this potential cover-up, whatever the cost may be. Along the way he is aided and hindered by both US and Iraqi Officials and one US Journalist, seeking the truth. One thing the story thrives on, is confusion. No one fully seems to know any answers no matter who Miller asks. Is the enemy closer to home than Miller may have initially expected....? Of course, this perfectly suits Greengrass' style. Initial combat scenes and tense exchanges thrive on his trademark docu-style. The camera shakes and rattles with every gun fired or Army Official bellowed and threatened. The fraught, high-end, kinetic style perfectly punctuates and moulds our surroundings-as what Greengrass wants, we are with Miller, every step of the way. We are there. Damon is nicely joined by Greg Kinnear, and our own Brendan Gleeson, as two competing American Intelligence officials adding to the twisting, turning plot. Amy Ryan plays the Wall Street Journalist trying to expose the truth, and villain for hire Jason Isaacs plays a gruff Special Forces Officer, who, from his characters introduction, you do not want to piss off. Unfortunately, despite a good cast, and the fact that they are all very capable in their roles, they all seem slightly wasted. Motives for each character are never given and we never get true insight into how things went down. Of course, the film is fictitious, but is inspired by the book 'Imperial Life in the Emerald City'. Greengrass nicely beefs up the books action and popcorn element, while still attempting to retain it's political drama inner structure. But therein lies another problem. Everybody knows how this turned out. So when the main 'plot twist' comes along, it doesn't provoke gasps or shocks; we were waiting for it to happen all along.
When 'The Hurt Locker' walked home with its many awards on that night on March 7th, a lot of people had not, very surprisingly seen it. The Iraq War does not usually good cinema make. No one wants to be lectured about things that, for the majority are all still going on in the world right now. Why go to the cinema when they could just watch the news? However 'The Hurt Locker' wisely didn't make its politics its center focus. At it's heart was an unbearably tense character study of one man, unfortunate enough to be great at his job and to become addicted to the rush it provides. Despite the fact that not many people initially saw it, it was quite an accesseble movie and a stunning piece of action cinema. Green Zone unfortunately is going to be compared, especially in light of The Hurt Locker's win only a few weeks ago. It can't possibly stand up to it. Especially when it's not the 'man' that Green Zone focuses on, but the war itself. It simply is not dated enough for this piece to seem all that relevant at heart. The best War Movies are those that show us the effects. While Green Zone does successfully and realistically ground us on the streets of an action packed Baghdad, this thrill can only last so long, and it is only a matter of time that the film gets bogged down in its own politics. We lose focus of the man, and his motives. Bourne had a relateable mission and a clear cut goal. While very commendable, what actually motivates Miller to do the things he does?
The film is however, intelligent and entertaining and there are far worse ways to spend a night at the movies. Greengrass has created a very nice companion piece to his terrifying 'United 93', from a few years ago. Greengrass's style is unique to him as befits his background in documentaries and is, in its initial stages quite well handled here. That the film shares the same cinematographer as 'The Hurt Locker', (Barry Ackroyd) shows that we are in experienced and deft hands (but further adding to comparisons). It is only in the films climax that it lets us down; things become simply too shaky and dark for us to keep up with the action. It never carries the immediacy of its early scenes.
This is all nitpicking however. Greengrass is an excellent director. He, despite initial concerns, has not remade Bourne, and Damon, has not re-engaged his amnesiac spy for another adventure. They have created a nicely entertaining Iraqi War thriller. A little more work and focus on characters and it could have stood up to Bourne. We are left then, in the towering shadow of 'The Hurt Locker'. The action crackles with energy and through Damons charisma we are kept intrigued. Pity that Greengrass lets his politics, rather than his heart overtake the proceedings.
Verdict: 66%
A very nice and tidy wartime thriller. Lack of focus on characters and waiting for plot developments that we already know are gonna happen slightly spoil things. It is a clever and fun night out that will certainly divert you for a few hours. The Greengrass/Damon engine doesn't seem to be running out of steam just yet.
Trailer:
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