Mar
11
Film: Green Zone
Alongside Saving Private Ryan and Platoon, Paul Greengrass' devastating recreation of the Bogside Massacre, 2002's Bloody Sunday, is a stunning masterclass in conveying the dehumanising dynamics of combat. It also brought him to the attention of Hollywood, leading to two very successful sequels to Doug Liman's The Bourne Identity and the excellent but one-watch-only United 93. How this noisy and pointless Iraq-set thriller - loosely based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran's account of post-invasion Baghdad - came from the same hand is anyone's guess.
Frustrated at having his time wasted looking for WMD in empty tower blocks and abandoned warehouses, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) pokes his nose where it's not wanted and uncovers all the dirty little secrets that the freedom fried occupation of Iraq has to offer. Even if politics isn't your thing, you'd be forgiven for having high hopes for Green Zone considering the director's track record of bruising and disorientating shaky-cam action. But things go out of date fast in popular cinema - I'm looking at you, Wachowskis brothers - and just because he pioneered it, that doesn't mean he should repeat it. We've seen this brand of dusty, chaotic military battle frequently over the last few years in such fare as The Hurt Locker and The Kingdom, and there's nothing fresh or arresting about Greengrass' approach here.
The heightened sense of reality in Bloody Sunday is replaced by loud, grainy set-pieces flooded with escalating, thumping percussion to the point where ear fatigue alone will have you welcoming the end credits. From a purposefully jarring opening, there is barely a second of silence - a complaint usually leveled at the demon Michael Bay, not the Surrey man who brought his singular smarts to the US of A's barrage of blockbusters. Even the dialogue scenes are of the 'Crash! Bang! Wallop!' variety, and don't give much of a chance to Brendan Gleeson - with his convincingly nasal yankee drawl - and Greg Kinnear to affix anything to their roles other than Good and Bad, respectively. Croaky voiced Damon is given even less to do with Roy Miller, apart from shouting and shooting in the name of righteous indignation, but it's hardly his fault.
Character motivation is simply replaced by the doubt and anger that every sane person felt when watching the unfolding Iraq invasion at the time, and nothing close to substance or depth features. Roy Miller is just that, Roy Miller. You know as much about him now as you will if you sit through Green Zone's 114 minutes. There will be those who will take this narrative single-mindedness as a triumph of the story's sheer locomotion, fleshing out our protagonist being secondary to the enormity of the lie, but it makes for a hollow experience with its lack of a humanizing core.
If whizz-bangs are all you need to sate your entertainment appetite - and if dialogue clangers such as 'Democracy is messy!' don't make you want to stab yourself in the kneecap with a biro - then the visceral shudders from the epileptic editing and crashing racket should divert for a time. But, as we all now know, the dust settled after 'Shock and Awe' and all we were left with was a lousy mess.
Released: Friday 12th March
Rating: 16
Duration: 1hr 55mins
News and Previews
Film Reviews
Film Trailers
Search
Latest Articles
- Ireland's Simon Fagan wins major songwriting award
- TV Guide: Tuesday, 04 May 2010
- Gig of the Day:Pavement, Villagers - Dublin Tripod
- Investment Dress of the week
- Lancome and Yayoi Kusama Join Forces
- Leonard Cohen returns to Ireland
- Film News: Bond franchise suspended
- Gig of the Day: New York Dolls, Academy Dublin
Search Engine Optimisation
- Consultancy -
- Facebook Campaigns -
- Technical SEO -
- Social Media Advertising -
- Off Site SEO -
Definitive customised
20 page website audit
Social Media Management
– Tweets –
– Status Updates –
– Links to Sites –
– Multi Media –
– Video Distribution –
