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The Perils of Soldiering
A solid actioneer, but not enough depth or suspence to merit an upgrade into the thriller genre. From the playing deck of emotion, the actors are given a single flash card for their characters. The lumbering CIA operator (Brendan Gleesan): weathered concern. Miller (Matt Damon): intense professionalism. Anxiety for the journalist (Amy Ryan) as it's beginning to dawn on her that she's been turned into a hand puppet for the war machine. Poundstone (Greg Kinnear): a smug bean counter on steriods.
Some shakey logic and wonkiest in the works: early in the film Damon says he's hunting for Weapons of Mass destruction, and I thought this was signalling a tonal shift into comedy. And for several minutes I was waiting for the gags to appear, but apparently the lad was being ernest.
During the big shoot-out at the end, A soldier asks HQ to snatch all electronic traffic coming out a four block radius of the fire fight. But at the end, Echelon can't intercept a simple e-mail communication from a Solider who's gone rogue and who has been actually targeted for liquidation; He's going to slip through unbeknowst to them?
The film also wants to have it both ways for journalism, on one hand, it revels in how most of the major american media outlets have been hopelessly compromised by the state and merely act as boosters for whatever is shovelled at them, then in turn, and shovel it onto the public; then in the closing seconds, they want to pretend these same toothless lap dogs are now Cerberus-like and guarding the holy temple of truth. Yeah, right.
The film is also careful to make sure the tongue wagging and finger pointing is securely aimed at little targets at the bottom and not large pathogical liars at the top.
Miller and Clark Poundstone are the two closest things to hero and villian in the story, but they never cross swords, apart from a hissy fit near the end and the film walks away from their showdown.
Some nice things, like the nighttime stroll through Abu Ghraib. Damon re-channels some of his single mindedness and problem solving from the Bourne films. But essentionally this film is a fictionized action version of the far superior and heart breaking documentary: No end in Sight. This popcorn movie, although entertaining, can scarcely muster half an ounce of that film's righteous anger and only a single droplet of the raging river of despair that flows through it.
Green Zone ~ 8/10
The Perils of Soldiering
A solid actioneer, but not enough depth or suspence to merit an upgrade into the thriller genre. From the playing deck of emotion, the actors are given a single flash card for their characters. The lumbering CIA operator (Brendan Gleesan): weathered concern. Miller (Matt Damon): intense professionalism. Anxiety for the journalist (Amy Ryan) as it's beginning to dawn on her that she's been turned into a hand puppet for the war machine. Poundstone (Greg Kinnear): a smug bean counter on steriods.
Some shakey logic and wonkiest in the works: early in the film Damon says he's hunting for Weapons of Mass destruction, and I thought this was signalling a tonal shift into comedy. And for several minutes I was waiting for the gags to appear, but apparently the lad was being ernest.
During the big shoot-out at the end, A soldier asks HQ to snatch all electronic traffic coming out a four block radius of the fire fight. But at the end, Echelon can't intercept a simple e-mail communication from a Solider who's gone rogue and who has been actually targeted for liquidation; He's going to slip through unbeknowst to them?
The film also wants to have it both ways for journalism, on one hand, it revels in how most of the major american media outlets have been hopelessly compromised by the state and merely act as boosters for whatever is shovelled at them, then in turn, and shovel it onto the public; then in the closing seconds, they want to pretend these same toothless lap dogs are now Cerberus-like and guarding the holy temple of truth. Yeah, right.
The film is also careful to make sure the tongue wagging and finger pointing is securely aimed at little targets at the bottom and not large pathogical liars at the top.
Miller and Clark Poundstone are the two closest things to hero and villian in the story, but they never cross swords, apart from a hissy fit near the end and the film walks away from their showdown.
Some nice things, like the nighttime stroll through Abu Ghraib. Damon re-channels some of his single mindedness and problem solving from the Bourne films. But essentionally this film is a fictionized action version of the far superior and heart breaking documentary: No end in Sight. This popcorn movie, although entertaining, can scarcely muster half an ounce of that film's righteous anger and only a single droplet of the raging river of despair that flows through it.
Green Zone ~ 8/10