Matt Damon should get Bourne again

Unsatisfying weapon of plot destruction

By Jillian Sexton

Green Zone Starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, and Khalid Abdalla Universal 115 mins Rated 14A

As much as I hate to rate a movie starring Matt Damon as anything less than perfection, I have to admit that Green Zone is a bit of a bust. Green Zone fulfills the comfortable American war-time story arc that we all know and tolerate: Set in Baghdad four weeks after the outbreak of war in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of soldiers are sent on missions to surround and search areas that are known to be housing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). However, every site that the soldiers hit is curiously absent of any kind of weapon. Miller mentions this to his superiors and is promptly told by the Pentagon’s representative, Clark Poundstone (Kinnear), to simply obey orders and not question the army intelligence. Naturally, Miller decides to uncover the mysterious secrecy of his project and forms an alliance with the American Iraq expert, Martin Brown (Gleeson). With the aid of his one-legged local Iraqi translator “Freddy” (Abdalla), Miller undergoes an investigation to prove that the WMD intelligence has been falsified, much to the annoyance of Poundstone. What follows are gunshots, explosions, car chases and high tech equipment all necessary in the uncovering of the real reason that America has gone to war. No one enjoys a culturally and politically pertinent action film starring Matt Damon more than myself, but – pardon me – yawn! Green Zone is painfully predictable from the opening credits – even the font is reminiscent of every other war-genre film released in the past several years. The tasty plot of a smart and brave soldier who enlists in the Army to protect the American people and seeks justice in a corrupt system by going rogue is so overdone that it’s hardly palatable anymore. The film doesn’t offer anything new visually, either. The shaky camerawork – used to convey the view of the soldiers while running over rocky terrain – is unoriginal and, unfortunately, left me feeling too nauseated to finish my popcorn. The special effects are cool but aren’t particularly creative, and the car chase scenes are poorly lit and fail to stimulate the senses. Kinnear and Damon both deliver average performances. It’s unusual for Kinnear to don a suit and refrain from any witticisms, and while he’s mildly convincing as a conniving government drone, the role itself is plastic and doesn’t allow much room for an actor’s individual artistry. Damon essentially plays a less-manic Jason Bourne, which we already know he can do. His performance adheres to all the necessities of a moral soldier – quick-witted, sly, and smart – but the character is uninteresting in its post-modernity: We’ve seen it before. The shining star of the film is Abdalla. As an Iraqi who, inexplicably, possesses a flawless understanding of idiomatic English, Abdalla depicts the perfect moral juxtaposition of an Iraqi who loves his country and wants to support the Americans in their endeavour to save Iraq, yet realizes that, ultimately, they should not have the final say. His performance raises interesting philosophical and ethical questions from the perspective of a native. Green Zone is an unnecessary addition to the American war film canon. The plot is uninspired and the cinematography is unoriginal. The film feels like an unsatisfying Bourne alternative, like Diet Coke when you’ve asked for regular. It leaves the same unfortunate aftertaste.

1.5 out of 4 stars

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