In some ways it feels like the Iraq invasion was just yesterday, and it all happened so quickly. It was as if the whole U.S. government mobilized itself, intent on propelling the country into a war with an expediency rarely seen by our massive, highly bureaucratic government. It put all its combined, monolithic weight into driving the war movement forward, sweeping up reputed journalists in the momentum, and then charging into Iraq with unparalleled military might. All in the name of neutralizing the world threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
In the aftermath of military action, the world was left with two questions: What happens to Iraq now, and just where are those WMDs? The former was (is) a serious problem for the Middle East and all countries involved), and the latter became perhaps the biggest political mystery of recent times.
"How do you have highly detailed intelligence that's totally wrong?" – Michael Bronner, former CBS newsman and co-producer of Green Zone.
What better backdrop for a political thriller by Paul Greengrass, director of the Bourne series and former director of the non-fiction current affairs program, World in Action?
Overview
Green Zone is an action thriller, and I would classify it as historical fiction as well. This may be slightly confusing to viewers, since the film tries very hard to intertwine its fictional story with a very real backdrop that sits in the gray area between history and current events. While watching it, I decided to put aside the question of "What's real and what's not?" and judge it as pure fiction.
The plot flowed well and kept me curious and attentive, but we've seen this basic recipe before. It may be using a heavier dose of 'reality' than usual, but it's hugely reminiscent of the Bourne films—same actor, same shaky cam style, same fast pace and tension. The silver lining for me was that it was refreshing to have an ordinary guy for a hero in place of a multi-skilled, not-quite-superhero like Jason Bourne. I also appreciated that the mystery was much larger than the hero himself. It kept me from reacting to events on the screen with questions like "So what?" or "Why do I care?"
Weighing Fiction Against Reality
It's important to realize that the story in Green Zone is pure fiction, but many of the events that take place are real, with many of the characters symbolizing real people. Rajiv Chandrasekaran's best-selling nonfiction book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" was optioned for the movie and forms the backbone for the real events that take place in Green Zone. The book has been widely acclaimed as being an accurate, impartial insight into the actions of the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority), the "transitional government" after the invasion. To make the movie, they layered a much simpler, Hollywood style plot on top of those events, with clear heroes and bad guys.
The reporter in the movie, Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan), appears to represent New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who broke the story about aluminum tubes back in 2002. The Iraqi exile responsible for false intelligence is loosely reminiscent of Ahmed Chalabi and the INC.
Green Zone went out of its way to present an accurate imitation of military affairs. Chief Miller (Matt Damon) leads Mobile Exploitation team Delta (MET D), a team responsible for tracking down WMDs after the invasion, and Greengrass hired MET A leader Monty Gonzales as a military adviser for the film.
"Once the reality on the ground changed from what we expected it to be, to what we discovered it to be, our mission became a search for the truth, rather than a search for weapons of mass destruction," says the chief. "Because it became more and more clear as the operation went on that it was unlikely we'd find anything." – Monty Gonzales, leader of Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha (MET A)
"The vehicle configuration, the way the people are grouped, the equipment, the organization–everything is almost exactly as it was when we were there in 2003," says Gonzales.
Many of Damon's fellow cast members were Iraqi veterans as well.
"What you see us doing in this film is an accurate representation of what we did over there. It's what we experienced" – U.S. Army vet Brian Siefkes, who played Keating, Miller's right-hand man in Green Zone. In 2003, Siefkes was also a WMD hunter in Iraq, working alongside Gonzales.
What makes a hero?
One stark truth stands out when watching this movie: Matt Daemon's character, Chief Miller, never existed. No one person was able to put the truth above their mission and risk life and limb to uncover it. That's pure fiction, but it's also this film's strongest statement: just doing your job isn't good enough when the truth is on the line. That message seems obvious when the mystery and clues are handed to us on a silver platter (everything's 20/20 in hindsight, after all), but the underlying implication is very, very relevant: Information control and mis-information management is able to occur when information and objectives in an organization/entity are localized and heavily fragmented.
In this type of situation, our hero becomes the otherwise-ordinary guy that's driven to see the big picture, which is an interesting modern adaptation of what makes a hero.
How to enjoy this movie:
* Don't expect it to blow your mind. It's a well done action thriller, but nothing amazing.
* It's not based on a true story, so don't let yourself get too confused by the fiction/history mish-mash. If you're not sure, file it under "fiction."
* Consider it an introduction to the political turmoil in Baghdad's green zone in 2003.
Weak Points:
* Doesn't score too many points in the originality department
In the aftermath of military action, the world was left with two questions: What happens to Iraq now, and just where are those WMDs? The former was (is) a serious problem for the Middle East and all countries involved), and the latter became perhaps the biggest political mystery of recent times.
"How do you have highly detailed intelligence that's totally wrong?" – Michael Bronner, former CBS newsman and co-producer of Green Zone.
What better backdrop for a political thriller by Paul Greengrass, director of the Bourne series and former director of the non-fiction current affairs program, World in Action?
Overview
Green Zone is an action thriller, and I would classify it as historical fiction as well. This may be slightly confusing to viewers, since the film tries very hard to intertwine its fictional story with a very real backdrop that sits in the gray area between history and current events. While watching it, I decided to put aside the question of "What's real and what's not?" and judge it as pure fiction.
The plot flowed well and kept me curious and attentive, but we've seen this basic recipe before. It may be using a heavier dose of 'reality' than usual, but it's hugely reminiscent of the Bourne films—same actor, same shaky cam style, same fast pace and tension. The silver lining for me was that it was refreshing to have an ordinary guy for a hero in place of a multi-skilled, not-quite-superhero like Jason Bourne. I also appreciated that the mystery was much larger than the hero himself. It kept me from reacting to events on the screen with questions like "So what?" or "Why do I care?"
Weighing Fiction Against Reality
It's important to realize that the story in Green Zone is pure fiction, but many of the events that take place are real, with many of the characters symbolizing real people. Rajiv Chandrasekaran's best-selling nonfiction book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone" was optioned for the movie and forms the backbone for the real events that take place in Green Zone. The book has been widely acclaimed as being an accurate, impartial insight into the actions of the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority), the "transitional government" after the invasion. To make the movie, they layered a much simpler, Hollywood style plot on top of those events, with clear heroes and bad guys.
The reporter in the movie, Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan), appears to represent New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who broke the story about aluminum tubes back in 2002. The Iraqi exile responsible for false intelligence is loosely reminiscent of Ahmed Chalabi and the INC.
Green Zone went out of its way to present an accurate imitation of military affairs. Chief Miller (Matt Damon) leads Mobile Exploitation team Delta (MET D), a team responsible for tracking down WMDs after the invasion, and Greengrass hired MET A leader Monty Gonzales as a military adviser for the film.
"Once the reality on the ground changed from what we expected it to be, to what we discovered it to be, our mission became a search for the truth, rather than a search for weapons of mass destruction," says the chief. "Because it became more and more clear as the operation went on that it was unlikely we'd find anything." – Monty Gonzales, leader of Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha (MET A)
"The vehicle configuration, the way the people are grouped, the equipment, the organization–everything is almost exactly as it was when we were there in 2003," says Gonzales.
Many of Damon's fellow cast members were Iraqi veterans as well.
"What you see us doing in this film is an accurate representation of what we did over there. It's what we experienced" – U.S. Army vet Brian Siefkes, who played Keating, Miller's right-hand man in Green Zone. In 2003, Siefkes was also a WMD hunter in Iraq, working alongside Gonzales.
What makes a hero?
One stark truth stands out when watching this movie: Matt Daemon's character, Chief Miller, never existed. No one person was able to put the truth above their mission and risk life and limb to uncover it. That's pure fiction, but it's also this film's strongest statement: just doing your job isn't good enough when the truth is on the line. That message seems obvious when the mystery and clues are handed to us on a silver platter (everything's 20/20 in hindsight, after all), but the underlying implication is very, very relevant: Information control and mis-information management is able to occur when information and objectives in an organization/entity are localized and heavily fragmented.
In this type of situation, our hero becomes the otherwise-ordinary guy that's driven to see the big picture, which is an interesting modern adaptation of what makes a hero.
How to enjoy this movie:
* Don't expect it to blow your mind. It's a well done action thriller, but nothing amazing.
* It's not based on a true story, so don't let yourself get too confused by the fiction/history mish-mash. If you're not sure, file it under "fiction."
* Consider it an introduction to the political turmoil in Baghdad's green zone in 2003.
Weak Points:
* Doesn't score too many points in the originality department
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