Paul Greengrass is one of the most interesting and intelligent filmmakers working today. He's still pretty unknown to anyone who isn't a movie nerd but his work has been already very influential. After getting his start in British television and low budget films, Greengrass made an impact with his film Bloody Sunday. A film about the massacre of Irish protesters by the British military. It was a small film but with a grueling scene in the middle where we see dozens of unarmed people gunned down simply for protesting. The film and it's ability to be intimate and yet intense at the same time got the attention of Hollywood and they came knocking on Greengrass's door. He was given the reins of the Jason Bourne franchise after the director of The Bourne Identity, Doug Liman, chose to go off and make more interesting projects like Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Jumper. And by "interesting" I mean "shitty". With this newfound responsibility, Greengrass then proceeded to give us The Bourne Supremacy. A film that gets a lot of flack for it's camerawork but never any respect for it's smart script and perfectly executed car chase at the end. A chase that is not in purpose of a plot point like so many, but in service to achieve a character developing moment.
After that, Greengrass made United 93, a film that is incredibly powerful and the less said about it, the better. It's one of those movies you just have to experience. Then Greengrass went back to close out the Bourne trilogy with The Bourne Ultimatum. A film that never gives itself a chance to breathe. Everything in the movie moves and refuses to slow down. A perfect ending to a great series. Now, you may be thinking to yourself why am I talking so much about Greengrass? And to that I answer, it's not your place to ask questions! You're not the one sitting at his computer and trying to write this out and not collapse under the pressure! I have a family to support! I have no talents! I need this job! Wait, it's doesn't pay? Fuck...
Actually this is all to help you understand which angle I came from when I saw Green Zone. I wasn't seeing it as a Matt Damon action movie. I was seeing it as a Paul Greengrass film. A rare breed of action film that never insults your intelligence while it decides that it's not going to take you by the hand and point out all the plot points you should know. The movie hits the ground running and never stops. You have to pay attention to everything, every line of dialogue and every shot and edit. No matter how short, they each include information. Greengrass doesn't like to film things simply for the sake of filming. His shots each tell you something. They each contain information that flesh out the story and the characters.
In this movie Matt Damon plays Roy Miller. A Chief Warrant Officer tasked with going into suspected WMD sites in Iraq right after the 2003 invasion. Every site he hits has come up empty. He starts to question all the so-called "reliable" intelligence that the military is receiving from it's sources. Miller joins forces with a CIA agent, Martin Brown, played by Brendan Gleeson who agrees with Miller that something isn't right. Perhaps the reasons the U.S. invaded Iraq never existed in the first place. Greg Kinnear plays Clark Poundstone, a Department of Defense official who has been in contact with the "source" and stands by the intel. A little too much though. The movie is all about Miller trying to find the truth while Poundstone blocks him at every chance. Once Miller discovers the truth then it's a race to get to the source. A man that Miller desperately needs to find and a man that Poundstone will do anything to get rid of. To this end he sends a Special Ops soldier named Briggs, played by Jason Issacs. The ultimate bad-ass who gets a bad-ass introduction. He's a character who has no story, he is simply pointed in a direction and let loose. From then on it's Miller and Briggs racing to the same location but with drastically different goals.
The movie is the epitome of a Paul Greengrass movie. The camerawork, the editing, the pace. All signature. The story is told as the action moves. There is rarely a respite for character development or for a repetition of the plot. Everything you need to know is told in actions and dialogue said on the move. If you're not paying attention then you're going to be lost. That is why you cannot watch this film if it does not have your undivided attention. Do so and it'll reward you with amazing action scenes, refreshing authenticity and an intelligent script that raises some good points about the war in Iraq and the validity of the WMD threat. But it also does not condemn nor forgive. It leaves it all to you to decide which side you're on.
Go into the movie with an open mind and rapt attention. Watching it idly will only result in frustration. Keeping these expectations in mind with result in you enjoying another Paul Greengrass home run.
