Do politics have a place in a thrilling action movie, even when that film is about the Iraq War?

“Green Zone” is directed by Paul Greengrass, who directed the last two film of the Bourne trilogy. It will become obvious to you very quickly if you have seen any of these, because “Green Zone” is almost a fourth Bourne movie in a lot of ways.

The film begins at a frantic pace and it seems to hardly ever slow down, barely allowing you to catch your breath before you are on the edge of your seat again. What you need to know going into this movie is the truth.

What do you believe happened in Iraq, and are you confident of your convictions regarding the Iraq War? If you are not, this movie will use its not so subtle political overtones to create an opinion for you. It is a perfect example of simple-minded progressive propaganda.

Matt Damon plays Captain Roy Miller, of the United States Army, who leads a team of specialists to disarm and take down any sites that may contain weapons of mass destruction. The problem is he keeps coming up empty. Miller questions where this seemingly faulty intelligence is coming from and gets the standard response that he does not need to worry where it comes from, he just needs to follow orders and do his job. Miller is not satisfied with that explanation and seeks to find the truth when it comes to the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Damon gives an incredible performance, which really makes this movie worth watching. Greg Kinnear as Department of Defense agent Clark Poundstone, and the local English-speaking Iraqi who calls himself Freddy (Khalid Abdalla) also give strong performances. But Damon is the star who truly carries the film’s suspense and intrigue. His character shows a real passion in finding the truth that is believable, especially in a movie where you can see the plot twist and conclusion coming a mile away.

The storyline itself was well written and it kept me intrigued and focused the entire movie, wondering what was going to happen next. Toward the end of the movie, however, I could have walked out of the theater and written the ending just like it happened without ever seeing the conclusion, barring one minor plot twist.

The camera work was bothersome at times. It made me feel seasick and dizzy the way it bounced around. If you have ever seen the last two Bourne movies it is very similar to that, except even worse as Greengrass employs his handheld camera style even more. The constant moving around of the camera was a bit distracting at times when you really try to focus on what was happening but all I could do was to try to not become nauseated with the camera shots. The sheer unsteadiness of it all is a major negative for the movie in general.

Near the end of the film, Damon’s character confronts Poundstone outside a press conference where he walks right up to him and calls him a liar.

“It doesn’t matter the reason why we went to war; we won,” says Poundstone.
Miller resonds by grabbing him by the collar and yelling, “That’s [expletive], it always matters why we go to war.”

I strongly agree with that statement. It does matter why we go to war. We have soldiers that risk their lives every day in Iraq and that is why this movie’s political propaganda infuriated me.

I loved the storyline and the acting was excellent, but the way the director and writers shove their liberal propaganda in the moviegoer’s face leaves a sour taste in your mouth. It was extremely offensive to right-winged Republicans such as myself, but perhaps it was even offensive to people of other political parties or races. A Middle-Eastern man and his wife got up and left the movie not even halfway through. From the look on his face, I have to guess something offended him or evoked some strong emotions.

Whichever political standpoint you take on this issue, you will have emotions about this movie, whether it is positive or negative. If you want non-stop action and thrilling suspense, this movie delivers all of that, but be forewarned that you will be subjected to the director’s personal view of the Iraq War, whether you agree with it or not.