Green Zone / La zone verte (Bilingual)

The Green Zone is an action film with not much action, and a political thriller without much suspense. There are enough of both to make the film entertaining, though at times one finds themselves wishing that the film would get back to some action. In fairness, the film attempts to deal with a complex period in American history in a very foreign land in a Wild West kind of way, which is virtually impossible to do in an effective way.

There were however some disturbing political aspects in this film. I found it rather disconcerting how the film insinuates the battle between "good" and "bad" Americans, to the point were it attempts to manipulate the viewer into cheering for the demise/death of certain American soldiers who are simply doing their duty and following orders, something the Matt Damon character seems to be able to avoid. I am not sure what the rank of "Chief" is, but he seems to be able to ignore orders from his command at will, and make up his own sense of duty as he goes along, to the point where is actually fighting other American soldiers. The fact that he makes an alliance with the CIA of all people at the expense of his own command group is almost too unbelievable. In fact, there are just too many bizarre things the Matt Damon character is able to get away with which really tests the gullibility of the viewer.

The film obviously wants to make the political point of the corruption of the Bush administration in regard to making up the excuse of WMD's for going to war with Iraq. Fair enough, but trying to make such a point with what is supposed to be an action movie seems a little misguided.

Film was 5-6 weeks not received. Notice to Amazon, days later , in the mail. Great service. This film should be viewed by anybody that follows history and politics. It ws dramatized of course but the essential facts were vividly presented.

i had high hopes for this this political thriller directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Mattt Damon.i wasn't disappointed.there were some very tense and exciting moments and the film does get high marks for authenticity and realism.the hand held camera and the so called shakiness than people complain about doesn't bother me at all.that just adds to the realism as does the graininess in certain scenes.the chaos of war is also captured very well here too.as for the acting,Matt Damon was convincing,but not a standout Brendan Gleeson and Greg Kinear were both very good,but for me,Jason Isaacs and the under-appreciated Amy Ryan were brilliant.Ryan really impressed with her character,even though it wasn't a huge role.for me,Green Zone is a 4/5