Green Zone

At first glance, Green Zone may appear to be a Jason Bourne movie by a different name, as it's directed by Bourne director Paul Greengrass and stars Bourne himself, Matt Damon. But don't let these surface similarities fool you; Green Zone is a political thriller with one foot planted firmly in reality. The story begins six weeks after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) leads a team assigned to seek out Saddam Hussein's WMD stockpiles. After repeatedly coming up empty on his expeditions, Miller begins to suspect that something is amiss with the intelligence reports he's been receiving. When Miller attempts to confront his superiors on the faulty information and lack of WMD stockpiles, he's drawn into a web of conspiracies involving high-ranking government officials and military leaders. The fact that the central "mystery" Miller is trying to uncover (namely, "why are there no WMDs?") is a known fact of historical record diminishes some of the tension that a purely fictional political thriller would bring into play. The mix of fact and fiction can also be a little befuddling, at times, as audiences have to remind themselves that Green Zone is a fictional story inspired by the actual events of the Iraqi invasion, which creates a slight disconnect between what's happening on screen and what happened in real life. Audiences looking for Bourne-style action and intrigue will be somewhat disappointed with Green Zone, as it's most assuredly not a high-energy rollercoaster ride, but if you enter into the film with the right expectations, it's one worth the price of admission. Standard issue special features round out the DVD, with deleted scenes, "making of" mini-docs and an actor/director commentary track.