Green Zone

I like Matt Damon as an actor. I know that this movie was long in coming and I fear for it suffering the curse of the Iraq War films. Few besides 'The Hurt Locker' have been successful or even very well told.

'The Hurt Locker' had the genius to be more of a timeless tale of men in combat and could have taken place in any war really (they had unexploded bombs in WWI too). It avoided the politics of the Iraqi War for the most part.

Other films depicting that recent history hit you over the head with their rhetoric. They all had the stink of the 'Hollywood Liberal Agenda' on them. I am a die hard progressive but I hate propaganda of any kind from either side especially in my 'entertainment'. Save that balloon juice for your soap box.

'Green Zone' takes it's story from true facts and true characters in the weeks after the start of the Second Iraq War in 2003.

The movie begins with the first moments of the bombing of Bagdad. "Shock and Awe' they called it. 4 weeks later we catch up with Matt Damon's character as he and his men are inspecting a weapon's storage site for WMDs. The scenes of street chaos and lawlessness the soldiers witness as they approach are remarkable. Everything that can be looted is being looted and the sounds of gunshots ring through the air. The brazen thieves just run by the US soldiers like they don't even exist. Such was the desperation created by poor initial planning of the war.

The American soldiers seem unwilling or unable to control the situation around them. Damon is discouraged by a situation that is hampering his ability to complete his mission and find the potentially deadly stockpiles of nerve gas and biological agents.

Faulty intel turns up another empty storage unit - the usual ending to these search missions. Pressure is building for the US to find SOMETHING to justify their invasion. Damon is not shy about expressing his opinion about the crappy intelligence he is getting but no one will listen to him except a shady CIA agent.

This movie is a maddening example of the clusterfuck the whole Iraqi 'adventure' was right from the beginning. That is not an opinion, those are the facts. I know that I would not have been able to exist in that environment without shooting myself or my superiors.

The casting and locations are terrific. I don't know why I appreciate hearing language with subtitles so much in movies. Authenticity? One thing for sure this movie put me right in the middle of the action which at times is unrelenting.

The rest of movie involves a thrilling race between various government agencies and Damon's character as they try to bring in Saddam's top general. He was known as the 'Jack of Clubs' in the infamous deck of cards soldiers carried around to identify members of Saddam's inner circle. These were the men the US wanted to capture the most.

You can see how so many people working against each other to achieve essentially the same goals could only mean failure for all involved. Things like this infuriate me and the movie effectively creates that emotion in the viewer. From what we have learned over the past couple of years, this was the way it was in Iraq - art imitates life once again.

I knew the story already so my politics weren't changed or validated but with a strong moral center in the always excellent Matt Damon, I was able to put myself into those moments and that is what I look for most in any movie.

The 'Green Zone' is a smart movie with a clear point of view that doesn't let up or clutter it's story with a lot of extraneous fluff. It's a lean tale that I think you will enjoy if you have followed the events of the war in Iraq from the start. Even if you haven't you will gain an appreciation and respect for those soldiers who just wanted to do the right thing for their country and for the Iraqi people.