Greg Vellante
Correspondent

As a film about war, “Green Zone” is anything but authentic. Director Paul Greengrass attempts to mesh the excitement of films like his “Bourne” series with the topical importance of his masterpiece, “United 93,” but unfortunately, the collaboration is a failed effort.

Scenes on the battlefront never feel real, driven by an extremely schematic flow of plot events and obliterated visually by Greengrass’s signature style of never keeping the camera still. I presume this was intended to project a gritty, raw feeling of genuine warfare on the audience, while the primary effect I received was that of nausea.

The whole time, I longed for Kathryn Bigelow to appear out of nowhere and teach Greengrass how to really shoot a war scene.

As a film focused on conspiracy, “Green Zone” becomes a tad more appealing, growing increasingly interesting and engaging as the film progresses. The plot follows Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) as he goes rogue in uncovering faulty intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Baghdad, taking place roughly two years after the 9/11 attacks, at the inception of our ever-growing war.

Unfortunately, despite occasional moments that stand out among the bland, “Green Zone” is an immediately forgettable addition to the line of mainstream war thrillers that preceded it.

I’ve always felt that one of the best indicators of a truly great film is its ability to whisk you away or pull you in; movies, at their core, are a means of escape. With “Green Zone,” I found myself staring blankly at the screen numerous times, completely unengaged with the story being played out in front of me.

Never during a well-done movie should I be attentive of my surroundings. My fellow audience members should disappear; the walls, the aisles, the slightly dimmed lights must all become obsolete. Throughout “Green Zone,” I was consciously aware that I was watching a film… with actors… in a theater. Not once did I become cinematically connected with “Green Zone.”

Matt Damon never became Roy Miller. When the actor was sparring verbally with a corrupt government official played by Greg Kinnear, my only thought was about how the two actors played conjoined twins in the comedy “Stuck on You.” That immediately removed all seriousness from every scene involving both actors on screen.

And when Amy Ryan showed up as a determined journalist, all I could think of was when the actress is going to return to her lovely role on “The Office” as Michael’s love interest Holly. All I could focus on for Brendan Gleeson was his poor attempt at masking his thick accent.

Some may argue that my random ruminations during “Green Zone” were simply components of sheer attention deficit, yet I beg to differ. Have you ever seen a film so undeniably engaging that, once completed, you seemed to almost wake up from a hypnotic state? Remember that movie, let it truly burn into your memory… then see “Green Zone.”

The highest point of this otherwise mediocre experience came not from the movie, but from the row behind me. I heard the quick beep of a digital watch and immediately became aware that an hour had passed in the duration of the film. Thankfully, with “Green Zone” throwing in the towel at 115 minutes, I didn’t have to hear that beep again.
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Greg Vellante is a graduate of North Andover High School who is currently attending UMass Lowell. he has been reviewing and writing about movies for The Eagle-Tribune since 2007.