Hijinks Movie Reviews: Green Zone

I first heard about Green Zone during it’s release week, which was March 12, 2010. It was wrapped in a fancy package:

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for the electrifying thriller Green Zone.

So of course, I saw the first 10 words or so, combined with the description of ‘electrifying thriller’ and I thought, “Sweet! It’s going to be like a Bourne movie!” Well, it wasn’t exactly like a Bourne movie.

Released on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 22, 2010, I had to wait until late July to get it because of the stupid limitations and delays Netflix gets. I finally got around to watching it the other night and it was very different from what I expected. Matt Damon is another of my ‘movie crushes’, I’ll often watch a movie simply because his name is in the credits. Stuck on You is a good example of another Damon movie I watched just because he was in it (coincidentally, Damon’s co-star Greg Kinnear was also in that one, and I kept teasing my wife asking her how long after Stuck on You this movie took place because they didn’t even seem to recognize each other anymore since they were separated.)

Stupid jokes aside, we’ll get into what Green Zone was, the good and the bad, after the jump.

If I would have looked into this movie at all, instead of just judging it by the movie poster, I would have known this wasn’t exactly a Bourne movie. I didn’t even realize it was more of a soldier-based movie as opposed to a spy flick until I was sitting down watching the movie. What it is, is just another ‘political thriller’, if those words can even go together. Typically, the more political a film is, the less I enjoy it, regardless of which direction it leans. When I sit down to watch a movie, I don’t want to be preached to, I want to relax, have a good time and enjoy a flick. I guess you could call this movie the Black Hawk Down for the Bush Administration, but I liked Black Hawk Down quite a bit more. And as tired as I am of war movies in Iraq, I can’t imagine what the soldiers must feel like that have to live that out day by day, but I digress.

So anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox and talk about the movie. It did have a Bourne feel to it, lots of handheld camera scenes, gritty lifelike action, and just barely enough tension to keep you watching. Matt Damon played Roy Miller, who is figuring out all the holes in the reasoning for America’s attack on Iraq, and takes it into his own hands to figure out what’s going on. His top informant is captured, then he too is kidnapped by the same Iraqi General he’s been searching for. Throughout his investigation, he uncovers a number of inconsistencies and in the end he escapes, writes his summary of the events that have taken place, and sends it out to a bunch of reporters to set the record straight.

Dave’s Quick Hits: Not at all what I was expecting, not great action, too political, Matt Damon was the only reason I finished it, 3 out of 10.
Thoughts From The Better Half: It was hard for me to get into it, the only reason I tried was because of the hotness that is Matt Damon, it takes a pretty good war movie for me to get into it, 1.5 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55% – Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass return to the propulsive action and visceral editing of the Bourne films — but a cliched script and stock characters keep those methods from being as effective this time around.