While fruitlessly searching for weapons of mass destruction in war-torn Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer, Roy Miller (Matt Damon), begins to realise that the intelligence upon which his search is based may not be all it’s cracked up to be. However, when a tip-off from a local brings Miller face-to-face with a high-ranking Iraqi General, he stumbles across evidence that threatens to undermine the US invasion.

 

Never let it be said that Paul Greengrass shies away from the difficult stories. Despite directing blockbuster action epics The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum, Greengrass cut his teeth on far weightier subjects, including The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence for British television, Bloody Sunday about the Irish civil rights massacre in 1972 and, more recently, United 93, a dramatisation of the events that took place on the third plane during the attacks on 9/11, which was shot done by the US air-force....ahem, I mean, plummeted to the ground in an open field in Pennsylvania with such force that the plane fucking disappeared. Yeah, right! Anyway, I’m getting off the point: Greengrass has done some shit and Green Zone sees collaboration No.3 with Hollywood’s eternal stand-by, Matt Damon.

 

It’s pretty common knowledge now, that our reasons to invade Iraq were, shall we say, a little sketchy at best. Ah, y’know what? This is FOF, we don’t do sketchy. Whatever your views on the War, everyone must concede that we were sold a fucking sly one – the US and UK Governments groomed us like a Gary Glitter/Pete Townsend double-team who then rimmed our pink, fleshy, child-like hind-quarters until they reached air on the other side. Green Zone is based on the literary exposé, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. During the first few weeks of the over-throw of Saddam, US officials attempted to set up a provisional government in the grounds surrounding Saddam’s old palace. The resulting governing body existed in a world so far removed from the carnage of the Iraq War that it failed to properly assess the needs of the people. It is this story which is the back-drop for Green Zone, as Miller uncovers the conspiracy that led us to war.

 

Okay. So we’ve all seen the “conspiracy” movie before, but this one’s got a shit-load of action in it. Paul Greengrass’ shakey-cam style has become all too prevalent in Hollywood recently (fucking shit robot movie!) but for the subject matter, the style is perfect. Greengrass’ mastery of action compares to anything he did in the Bourne films. However, despite other lazy critics going for the easy handle, this isn’t “Bourne 4” as many have suggested.

 

Inspite of its Hollywood finish, Green Zone is far more provactive (not in the sexy way) and never feels as polished as Bourne. The underlying political subtext serves to pepper the action with a tense, claustrophobic feel that is all too lacking in mainstream film-making. Damon is great, once again, and is supported by a great cast: most notable are Brendan Gleeson as the disgruntled CIA agent, Amy Ryan as the journalist in search of the truth and a fucking brilliantly harcore turn by Jason Issacs, sporting a badass handlebar moustache, as Miller’s “nemesis” at arms who looks more like something out of a crazy-ass first-person shooter.

 

There are inevitable parallels with The Hurt Locker (not least of all its cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd) but while Green Zone will never be film of the year it may serve to highlight the important need for there to be concrete reasons to go to war. Check this fucker out....I dare you...I double-dare you, muthafucker!

 

Badass handlebar 'tache out of 5