(2012-04-28 21:44:09)

Infomercial for a onesided political agenda

Blatant mindless political diatribe wrapped in a weak story with paper thin charecters and phoned in by the actors

(2012-04-28 07:10:50)

Intense military thriller. I almost needed a seat belt to watch this movie!

I am definitely not a fan of military movies, but I really enjoyed this one. It was intense, taut, and thought-provoking. From the very first scene I felt like I was on an action-packed roller coaster ride that never stopped! In this film, Matt Damon plays a U.S. Army Officer trying to find out the truth about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and decipher the real reason why the U.S. removed Sadam Hussain from power. I understand that some people may not like this movie because it approaches the War on Terrorism from a more liberal agenda, but if you watch it with an understanding that is just an entertaining movie, you'll probably like the fast-paced, thrilling action and twisting plot surprises that fill the script through the very last scene.If you are looking for a gritty movie with a bite, give The Green Zone a try. You'll be fully engaged.

dyutimaan

(2012-04-28 23:06:13)

A quick paced movie with amazing effects. Matt Damon has proved why he is the best once again

Well done Matt Damon!! This movie was revolving around his brilliance.His expressions, his sense of morality, his acting skills have madethis movie a must watch. This movie can make you feel like you are in areal battlefield with the sort of effects shown. The helicopters, theconversations between the soldiers, the battle scenes. Amazinglyaccurate!! The story is a bit confusing in the beginning but the plotunravels wonderfully in the end. The fact that Razi was killed by oneof his fellow countrymen and not by the American army was a twist thatwas totally unexpected. It takes hours after watching this movie tosettle down and think of something else. A very hard hitting moviebecause it shows the truth behind the Iraq War and how it could havebeen avoided easily. It was just a way for the Americans to prove theirdominance to the world by not sitting down and doing nothing after9-11. They had to attack Iraq and to give an explanation to the UN theyneeded an excuse and that is what the WMD's were used as at that pointof time. The movie is fast paced and keeps you engrossed. Its a mixtureof politics and how it affects the lives of the common people and thesoldiers.

(2012-04-28 06:34:26)

Top Quality Movie...But I'm Still Recovering From Motion Sickness...Ugh!

When the credits rolled this afternoon, a gentlemen sitting behind me had to take a deep breath. "Man, I'm just worn out from watching the movie." I agreed with him.This movie has all the excitement of the Jason Bourne series: hot action scenes, great sound editing, a tight script, a stellar soundtrack and excellent acting by everyone in the film, and I mean everyone!But I couldn't handle all the camera shakes. In fact, half the movie is like this. I understand Hollywood is lately using hand-carried, un-dollyed camera techniques to create the sense of chaos and panic in a film, but this was just too much. It was like being on a roller coaster ride with the scene moving violently and not you. I regretted eating that pack of Skittles just before the film started. When I got home, I simply had to lie down for an hour.It's a shame because the story is brilliant, and I love Matt Damon's strong acting style. If you're a fan of the Jason Bourne films, this is right up your alley, but you might want to bring a vomit bag with you. Then again...maybe not. I was puzzled why Green Zone didn't do so well at the Box Office on its opening weekend; now, I understand why. It's not the film...it's the filming. Wonderful, wonderful story, but it's just nauseating to watch...literally. Too bad.I'm glad the movie wasn't in 3D. I wouldn't be able to handle it.

(2012-04-27 04:09:31)

My Goodness

I went to this movie thinking it would be similar to the Bourne movies but was sadly disappointed. It is a political message movie plain and simple, there really is nothing to it, no action, no drama, nothing... poor acting and that "I'm in the action" crap with the camera moving and shaking is horrible.

(2012-04-26 10:37:38)

Matt Damon rocks in GZ.

Matt Damon is okay, but the script is weak. So so watch. Not as good as the Bourne movies. Also, the action is brief. I would say rental.

jzappa

(2012-04-22 22:24:25)

War's First Casualty

Green Zone sees an American war from the perspective that we're not thechampions, not the badasses, but the rubes. Its understanding is thatIraq's fictitious "weapons of mass destruction" weren't there, thatneocons within the administration falsified them, lied about them, wereprepared to kill to conceal their ruse. That's definitely one morefeature of the emerging account that's increasingly surfaced aboutIraq, the, um, stunning awakening that we went to war under hollowpretenses. This is a thriller that presents characters and scenariosthat have candid true-life analogies, but it is a thriller. Itsdirector made the second and third Bourne films, and shoulders hisformula to Baghdad, starring Matt Damon as a relentless action hero.However this thriller isn't just a thriller. It has a bottom line todefend: Pivotal disregards at the beginning rendered a capable andefficient victory unfeasible, and turned Bush's "Mission Accomplished"photo-op into a monumental misconception. At the heart of the plot isthe U.S.'s crucial mistake in the field, which was to fire the Iraqiarmy and leave them in limbo with their weapons. The Iraqi army had noparticular adoration for Saddam and might have had a beneficial,balancing impact. Rather, they were rendered jobless, estranged, armed.Damon, playing Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, is at the beginningcommanding a sweep on a believed WMD storage site. Nothing there.Another sweep, meant to find weapons of chemical warfare, results innada. Since some of these seizures yield fatalities, he starts tochallenge the intelligence reports: He speaks out at a briefing, andsort of remarkably finds himself in confrontation with a U.S.intelligence agent named Poundstone, played by Greg Kinnear, completelypersuasive as always. Of course he's disciplined with the same oldplatitudes, told to carry out his orders, but is overheard by Brown, aburly, seasoned CIA man, a Middle East long-timer. Soon he's relayinghis concerns to Brown.The CIA, as in real life, has no information to corroborate the WMDallegations, is removed from the discourse, and Poundstone's not onlythe engineer of the neocon fabrications, but their hatchet man, witheven a military group responsible just to him. Miller also meets a NewYork newspaperwoman (Amy Ryan, whose versatility I find amazingwhenever I watch her after seeing her in something else before), whosereports about a classified Iraqi informant have accredited the WMDpropaganda. From her, he finds that Bath Party Gen. Al Rawi met withPoundstone in Jordan, yet, contrary to the reference Poundstone pointedout, plainly told him Saddam had no WMDs. So the bad intel wasmanufactured to rationalize the war the neocons wanted. Also aconsiderable leg up for Miller is Freddy, a local who begrudginglyrisks his life to be that, functioning as a translator and providingthe film's most essential bit of dialogue.Have I made the storyline seem complicated? Paul Greengrass andscreenwriter Brian Helgeland unfold it with definite simplicity.Character reduction and pigeonholing equal a thicket of deceptionaccessible to foreign policy lay people. I guess that's fine. I mean,if we look at seminal films portraying true accounts of war's immediateexperience, we're not watching good vs. evil. We're watching everyonebeing corrupted by the obligatory nature of killing, witnessing so manybeing killed, and the bankruptcy of policy that leads to millions ofsouls being sent to do that. In a way, distilling it into a thrillerplot, a clear-cut hero, a clear-cut villain, as well as to bring it tothe screen with such a naturalistic approach, seems to trivialize howwar's always enticing to young men who know nothing of it first-hand,how their blood earns glory for those who continue not to. There are nounscathed soldiers in war.Nevertheless, Green Zone doesn't trivialize the injustice being done tomillions of people over there right now. It puts us right in theirfaces. Damon's Miller's not just the movie's hero because he runs,jumps, shoots, kills, but because he inherently understands that blindfaith will get him and his men killed. He's the voice of protest whenit's needed most, when the gushing of "fife and drum," parroted by themedia and the pulpit, is demanding him and his men conform, keep step,comply in silence with the sovereign word of command. The action iscaptured with tons of quick cuts flanked by hand-held shots. Despiteall our assumptions that it'd be like another Bourne film, it featuresno action sequences that are a hundred-to-one realistically. When wesee a chase that couldn't happen in the real world, we automaticallybecome conscious of the visual effects. When they could happen, we'reconsistently conscious of the story.This movie has been on the inevitable hit list of those continuing torationalize the fabricated intelligence we accepted as a justificationto raid Iraq. Indeed, truth tends to be war's first casualty. Yes, thefilm too is fiction, uses implausible long-shots and implausibly putsone man in the middle of all the action. It is a thriller, not adocumentary. But the facts ever present and the essence of the neoconinjustices have by now been made very evident.

blackmamba99971

(2012-04-22 08:50:45)

Interesting Observation

Although I do not watch many stories on the Iraq wars, simply becausethe idea of Iraq at war was ludicrous. The US going in a countryillegally only to take over the oil rights after Saddam Hussein wascaptured. This story shows what the US's real agenda was all about. Itwas a good look at how manipulation through ghost information and falsesources did to a country in such short time. Matt Damon, plays areliable Chief warrant officer who goes out to find specific hidingspots to where dangerous chemicals were stored. Yet in hisinvestigations, find nothing but air. It starts him on a trek offinding who the real culprits are behind the masquerade. Economic Hitmen basically go in and corrupt the leaders of a country or nation onlyto have the US benefit from the rewards. This is called good business.But the after math is so horrific, that they do not care who getskilled in the process. This film shows what corruption at the highestlevels are, and for George Bush, his leader ship has brought nothingbut turmoil to the American people, but more so to the soldiers who didnot know why they were even there in the first place. In every one'sopinion, George is probably the most evil man on earth, and incomparison, Hitler was an alter boy compared to him. This movie is agreat example of an unnecessary war in such chaotic times.

(2012-04-20 03:25:29)

Blu-ray picture quality review.

I'm not going to comment on the movie, its plot, how I feel about it, or how you should feel about. This review is strictly a product review of the Blu-Ray, two disc limited edition version of the film.If you're looking to buy this movie, I cannot recommend the blu-ray version. The picture quality is a mixture of acceptable to very poor. Few scenes actually appear to be high definition with a crisp, clear image, while most of the footage is very grainy. Realize that this is a result of how the film was made, the cameras that were used, and there was apparently no effort put into cleaning up the image. It's not just the night scenes, or the action scenes, that the poor picture quality appears in, but also in well-lit interior scenes where the camera is steady, The claim on the packaging of "perfect picture" is simply not the case here, but the little mini-review on the cover that says "Gritty, thrilling" seems to have been the actual review of the image quality.The blu-ray does have features that you cannot find on the dvd version of the film, such as a picture-in-picture track with extra footage, interviews, and making-of material. However, the dvd version does include the same audio commentary and deleted scenes.Bottom line is, the reason I buy blu-ray versions of film is because I want a picture quality that is superior to dvd... that is the feature that I'm willing to spend an extra ten bucks on. Unfortunately, this blu-ray does not deliver a picture quality that is any better than what you can find in the dvd version. So simply weigh whether or not you think a picture-in-picture distraction is worth the extra money over what you'd pay for the dvd, because you're going to get the same picture quality no matter which version you get.

Javier Bernad

(2012-04-19 15:23:23)

a straight forward plot, a visual nightmare

The movie is too simple to be part of the conspiracy roster. Conspiracyplots leave you wondering if you missed something. Did I go to therestrooms? This one does not. Greengrass wants us to believe that thewar was based on deliberately produced lies, which is what most peoplebelieve anyway. I wish somebody put forward the version of a war basedon the only evidence needed, which is that Sadam never confirmed he didnot have the weapons - as the UN had requested him to do.Overall I had a good time watching it. The action scenes are well timedand Damon is in shape. One thing I would change is the fad of thehand-held camera principle: if you want to do a cool movie, shoot ithand-held. It is OK when you are showing a scene that is supposed tohave been shot by an amateur, or by a war correspondent. But two hoursin front of a screen that makes you think you have a hangover is toomuch. I actually had to move seats to a higher row to avoid throwingup.

(2012-04-11 02:51:02)

Extravaganza of high tech militarilism, politics, and art.

Matt Damon surpassed his exceptional acting in the Informant and Invictus. The fast pace of the movie, the great depth and diversity of the culture and landscape of Iraq, the gigantic advances in military technology, and the politics of building a nation, all made every actor in the movie a big star. The movie maker capitalized on every second of the movie, by intense sound, rich and moving photos, and engaging dialogue. One side of the movie displays the exceptional might of the United States in going to far places, making enormous changes in the course of history of other people, and spreading its unique way of looking at things differently from the other superpowers. Iraq is a tough, tribal, and enormous place for any foreign power to even attempt to meddle with, a challenge that America took and triumphed. Another side shows the struggle of the locals for water, basic needs, and security, intermingling with a foreign army, armed to the teeth with steel, high tech equipments, and space-based fast and accurate communication and information resources. Of course the Green Zone with its lavish swimming pools and buildings was Saddam's making. The focus on the WMD and the attempt to capture one General, who could reveal the initial motive for going to war, was as poor of a choice as choosing Rugby, in Invictus, to show Nelson Mandella's new role after Apartheid. The irony is that both the collapse of apartheid and Saddam's tyranny, which represent the dawn of new era, were taken out of context in the film making arena. The Green Zone tried to emphasize the vanity of invading Iraq based on the bad intelligence on WMD. Even though the motive of the Iraq war will always remain a controversy, the fact that America was decisive to exercise its exceptional power in diverting the course of history will always embody the unique American identity of shaping the future of the human race. The movie would have been able to extend for another 6 hours or more and would never lose its appeal, especially if other views were balanced in the historical and political contest of the war. The trigger-happy atmosphere of soldiers making rules as they see fit and taking lives at random, and without recourse, will always inconvenience people on both sides. On the American and Western side, people might not gauge the brutality of a tyrant like Saddam when comparing the Military taking over the lives of the Iraqis. On the Eastern side, many would hold immeasurable contempt to the trespassing of a foreign army on their own cities and backyard in such vigilante-style.With the long and extended intoxication of the Old World with tyranny, complacency of the masses, and the contemporary crisis of spread of nuclear technology and explosive population overgrowth, the Green Zone could not undermine the positive and refreshing role of America in policing the Globe. The irony of the War, however, stems from the lack of public sympathy with Bush's presidency, regardless of its overreaching and intrusive world policing that is impossible to measure within a short time scale.

(2012-04-10 11:59:14)

Saw it, lived it,

This review is from: Green Zone (Amazon Instant Video) Saw it and lived it. Good action sequences. Fast paced. Decent story line but the movie is propaganda looking to make a political statement and as we see now, it turned out better than the left would have us believe. Iraq is ruling itself and we don't own their oil fields.

(2012-04-03 13:53:34)

Fantastic Thriller

CWO Miller (Damon) sees a cover-up in Iraq in 2003. He feels the intelwhere WMD may be is wrong, and is always wrong. He believes that IraqiGeneral Al Rawi (Naor) can verify that the WMD was dismantled beforethe US forces came to Iraq. Miller needs to find the general beforeothers and expose the cover-up. This movie makes you feel like you are really in the war or at leastwitnessing just how it may have been. Fantastic camera work,cinematography, editing, dialogue, stunts, and what a story. It'sunlike any other war movie you have ever seen. Too bad it's allfiction. And, yes the acting performances were all Oscar worthy.Fantastic thriller with no downsides. It's all good. Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

(2012-04-02 22:28:04)

Interesting action drama

Just a note or two: The movie takes place in Iraq. It is an action drama with Matt Damon at his best. It is about the weapons of mass destruction that were never found in Iraq. Highly recommended for people that love war suspense movies. The technology and movie sets were very realistic.

(2012-03-31 07:50:06)

Dares to Tell The Truth About WMD's

It seems as though everything breaks down along political lines these days, even movie reviews on Amazon. Right wingers say this movie is liberal pablum. Left wingers who say that this movie tells the truth that we all knew anyway. But they don't review the film. So since none of us are David Denby or Anthony Lane, here goes a super brief review:Matt Damon delivers a purposeful, severe and gritty performance. He doesn't smile once in any scene. The action sequences are also predictably grim. Greg Kinnear gives his first bad-guy performance, and he is quite believable. And then there's Igal Naor, who did such an amazing job of playing Saddam Hussein on the HBO miniseries, shines as General Al Rawi, the man who was "misquoted" about WMD's at a Jordan meeting just prior to Shock and Awe. The direction by Paul Greengrass is slick and chase oriented, as he did so well in the 'Bourne Ultimatum.' Regardless how you feel about the Iraqi war, this movie will move you emotionally.

(2012-03-30 19:10:58)

A DUMB POLITICAL MADE UP DOC

How can anyone label this very dumb movie as "Great" or "Accurate" when they were not even there. This is another flic where Damon is using his celebrity status to pan America and Bush. When are you left wingers going to move on - especially you DAMON? I and many other vets have lost all respect for this Damon guy because he shows his contempt for this country to put a story like this on the screen because their are always people that will really believe it. Give it a rest. If this war was all about oil why aren't the gas prices down instead of going up? I and many more will never see another Damon movie again.

SidneyPrescott2000

(2012-03-25 09:14:44)

Nothing new, special, or important.

Matt Damon, who is one of the most reliable and consistent actors inthe business, and when he's not up to game, you know something's wrong.He looks bored in the role throughout the entire film. The Green Zoneis predictable, pointless, and very clichГѓВ©d. This film is the reasonwhy some people have a phobia to War films. Loud, scar action sequencesleading to nothing is basically what The Green Zone is strung togetheron. This film also offers the idea that we went into this war underfalse pretenses. There is absolutely nothing that separates this film from any other warfilm in recent memory, other than The Hurt Locker. The Hurt Lockerattempted to change the typical war film and was successful, but thenthis film is released right around the time that wins Best Picture andtakes away steam. Save you money. Sure, it's "somewhat" entertaining to the modernaudience who likes war films. I don't. I liked The Hurt Locker becausethere wasn't the normal war movie turf. This is just average filmmaking. Sorry Matt Damon...you struck out this time; 4/10.

the_Poppuns

(2012-03-24 11:09:44)

Shake, Shake, Shake

Shake, shake, shake, shake your Damon.I'm sooooo sick of shaky cam, seriously. I don't know how I haven'tgotten literally sick yet. Whoever is telling people this is a reallycool way to film movies, STOP IT! This movie was a waste of my time.Now I'm sure there is an audience for this. Probably a big one. Unlikethe rest of the free world, I still don't buy Matt Damon as an actionstar. As far as I'm concerned he seems like someone who should beattacking books at the most. This movie had some running around andshooting, and a hopping translator, and a lot of grainy greenness. Whatelse? I dunno. Some guy who looks like Telly Savalas with a mustacheand a message that will make you think. But only if you've never everthought before. Honestly, it was like a spoof of itself. A lot ofpeople running around spouting lines in very stern ADR work so you'llknow that you're supposed to be taking this almost as seriously as theyare. And it's how seriously it takes itself that makes it funny. Iremember a time when people complained about movies like Rambo forhaving very little dialogue. This was hardly any better. But that atleast was a good movie. This completely wastes Jason Isaacs. AndBrendan Gleeson just looks grumpy the whole time. And all you can thinkis 'when is the next Harry Potter movie?' Matt Damon fans who enjoyshaky camera work might like it. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.But it's up to you.

(2012-03-22 16:24:56)

Green Zone a loser for a usually winning team

This review is from: Green Zone [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Green Zone is about the search for non-existent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after the fall of the Hussein regime. Director Greengrass and Damon make the pace as frenetic as it was in Bourne three. They succeed with the pace, but the story just isn't there. The best thing about Green Zone is that maybe Damon will realize he should have gone ahead with Bourne Four. I bought the Blu-Ray version with the digital copy. I like the idea of the digital copy so I can watch movies on my computer while other family members use the T-V set and/or its DVD player. This is not the worst film ever made, not even the worst Damon film, but it's not in his top ten either. Only for real Damon or Iraq war film Green Zonefans.

(2012-03-21 18:52:10)

Bourne fan

This review is from: Green Zone (DVD) A good movie but not on the level of the previous Bourne. Matt Damon was great....again.