The Green Zone

Mission Unaccomplished - Or Not
The Green Zone, R, ****, Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Grendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla. Universal film. Director Paul Greengrass. Length 114 minutes.
Realistic filmmaking brings this story alive by showing the horrors of going to war. It begins on March 19, 2003 as U.S Troops are trying to find Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. The handheld cameras give the audience a feel of being right smack dab in the middle of the action.
Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) and his men are trying without success to find WMDs. Miller is frustrated, because he and his men keep coming up empty. No WMDs are to be found. Maybe the phrase by Davy Crockett should have been embraced in full, “Be Sure You Are Right - Then Go Ahead.”
A disconnect between the Intelligence and what is actually being found is frustrating to Miller. We all know the story of what was not found.
The film was inspired by the book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.
Miller in his frustration begins to question the intelligence and the sources. He says, “I came here to find Weapons of Mass Destruction and to save lives.” He is a dedicated soldier who wants to do the right thing.
The film is a matter-of-fact look at the war and its consequences. Miller is tired of bad intelligence, and he wants to accomplish something worthwhile. This is where the intensity and the horrors of war begin to bring more frustration to everyone involved.
“The Green Zone” is a fast paced film with strong performances from the entire crew. Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) is a U.S. Intelligence officer who is gung ho about moving forward with the war.
Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson) is a CIA officer who is trying to get to the bottom of situation and determine the truth. Miller teams up with Brown to seek the truth. Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan) is a newspaper reporter who wrote an article that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction. The reporting of the information is a key that opens up the plot for the film to find its path.
“The Green Zone” does not let up on its action and suspense. It will keep the audience intrigued throughout its 114 minute run time.
Miller befriends Freddy (Khalid Abdalla) a local man who wants to help the U.S. As Freddy tries to help the tension is turned up another notch. The audience dos not know what they will face behind the next corner or in the next scene.
Greengrass directed some of the Bourne films. He brings the action down a notch to show more realism in each scene.
Many films have been done about the Iraq war without much popularity. This one is a little different. No matter what one’s belief about the intelligence and why we went to war, “The Green Zone” is entertaining and passionate.
It is somewhat like the old Sonny and Cher song, The Beat Goes On. No matter what happens we all continue down the road of life.
As Jesus said, “Seek the Truth and the Truth Will Set You Free.”