Film Review: “Green Zone”

March 24, 2010 in - 41 views

 

Mr. Happy
MR. HAPPY presents The CHAT SHACK rating system:
 1 boner up = poor, 2 boners up = fair, 3 boners up = good, 4 boners up = very good, 5 boners up = Excellent 

 

Review "Green Zone" 
Genre Drama, Thriller, War
Runtime 115 Minutes
Executive Producer(s) Debha Hayward, Liza Chasin
Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lloyd Levin, Paul Greengrass
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Written by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland
Starring

Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Khalid Abdalla 

MPAA Rating R (for violence and language)
Reviewer Rating 4 Boners Up

This last weekend my mom and I went to a new movie called "Green Zone", with Matt Damon as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, and Greg Kinnear as Clark Poundstone. Now I really don't think it's just me, but Clark Poundstone kinda sounds like a porn star name, just wanted to point that out.  Now I'm sure that most everyone knows who Matt Damon is.  He starred in the Bourne Series not too long ago, and has shown up in quite a few action movies in the last few years.  As far as Greg Kinnear goes, I do recognize him from other roles that he has played, such as his part as the gay neighbor in "As Good As It Gets". There were some other minor familiar faces, but not many. The first thing that I will say about this movie is that they chose some awesome places to shoot it (Morocco and Spain, mainly), but what impressed me was how much it resembled what I picture when I hear the word Iraq. The plot of the movie is pretty basic, and some of the best movies of all time have a very basic plot. You already know how it ends since it is framed from a true story, so the ending isn't a big shocker, but the things that go on behind the scenes that we wouldn't have seen on the news are the parts that make up this movie. It pretty much starts you off in Iraq, with Matt Damon leading a team that is trying to find some of the supposed weaponized chemical/nuclear weapons, but his team doesn't find anything. This is the first sight that you see, but it is not the first one that he has been too. He starts to question whether or not the intelligence is good, making some small waves with higher up officers, but nothing radical or off reservation…..yet. He sees that nothing is being done, and tries to find answers from a journalist who writes a column in the Wall Street Journal. In her column she states her information is coming from a secret source named Magellan. When Roy Miller goes searching for a man who he suspects to be Magellan, he runs into the CIA, which surprisingly tries to help him dig up what is really going on. I know it's shocking that the CIA isn't made out to be the bad guy, but I feel it's about time that they got some good press. Now, while searching Iraq for Magellan, Roy Miller comes onto the radar of a very powerful man that is the liaison for intelligence in the Defense Department, Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear). This man starts to get very nervous when Roy begins to get close to the truth about where the weapons are, and fears that he will uncover what is really going on. He attempts to stop Roy, but somehow Officer Miller is just too slick This movie gives a very clear view of what might have actually happened in Iraq, but I have a hard time believing that it is all that easy. Now, like I said, the ending is pretty much already known, but what is interesting is how it comes to that conclusion. It is a big suspense/action movie, and I have to say it wasn't cheesy because of how well it was shot, and because it came from some form of a true story. I will say that most true story movies don't even come close to what really happened, but they still hold some semblance of what went on. For those of you that like explosions, and guns, and fighting, then this is the movie for you. I would label it as a medium action film, since the hand to hand combat wasn't really there, but it is still a great movie to see with the guys. It's not hard to follow and makes things pretty clear, so it's easy to understand. I give this movie 4 boners up because it is one of the best action movies I have seen in the last year, and will definitely see it again when it comes out on DVD. It gives you a satisfying feeling when you walk out of the theater, knowing that you have a piece of a puzzle that has been around for the last couple of years.

-Poet7

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