Entertaining war thriller that delivers

It's very difficult to make a film based on facts while the reality is still fresh in public memory. Oliver Stone's WTC fell to this very perception but Green Zone escapes it.

Four months into the attack on Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) hasn't found single WMD that propelled Americans to attack Iraq. Miller's team ends up hitting a dead end every time they zero in on a location that has been verified by mysterious informant "Megellan".

When the cool and composed Miller confronts Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), a representative of the Bush administration, he is told to stop questioning and start looking for the information is correct. Miller is approached by Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson), a CIA operative, who tells him that Megellan's report is bogus. Miller confronts a Wall Street Journal correspondent, Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan), about the authenticity of her article that corroborated Megellan's claims and she says she took the man from Washington's 'word' for it.

The deeper Miller scratches the ugly lies of his government come out. With the help of a local Iraqi, Frankie, Miller tracks down General Al Rawi, a high ranking member of Saddam's army. When Poundstone gets to know that Miller and the CIA are trying to get to Al Rawi he sends an elite team of his own to protect a secret that shouldn't come out at any cost. Miller gets to the general and is shocked beyond repair when his suspicion of the WMD report being fabricated comes true.

Green Zone is a well crafted edgy thriller from Paul Greengrass, who, thanks to the Bourne series knows how to make a thriller. Green Zone kicks right into the action and barely misses a beat taking the viewer right into the heart of the conflict zone. It doesn't spoon feed, in fact the shaky camera and low light shooting allows the viewer to partake on Miller's journey.

Inspired by Rajeev Chandrasekaran's book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Green Zone is not an adaptation. Using information from the book screenwriter Brain Helgeland chooses to create fictionalized alter egos as opposed to the book that makes no bones about naming names.

Matt Damon's persona plays a large role in trusting Miller and choosing a side in this conflict. Green Zone's cast delivers well with Kinnear's spineless bureaucrat and Gleeson's 'trustworthy' CIA operative standing out.

Green Zone deftly concocts facts and fiction to come out with a fantastic thriller. The film doesn't spare Bush Administration but rather than being overtly critical of the misdemeanor, it depicts the real conflict between various sections of the people involved in the war. Miller urges Poundstone to get out of the green zone, a cordoned area, and witness the rape of the basic trust between a government and its soldiers.

This review contains spoilers.

Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Khalid Abdalla, Amy Ryan

Screenplay by: Brian Helgeland, inspired by Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Director: Paul Greengrass

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