Green Zone

Channel4 Film“A world of confusion and conspiracy...” A noble intent does not a great movie make - Green Zone is a perfectly serviceable knockabout action flick, but Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon are both capable of more...

Guardian“A blistering thriller...” The film is as incandescent as Chandrasekaran's book is cool. Dusty authenticity it has in buckets and spades, for which much credit must go to British cinematographer Barry Ackroyd...

The Times“The Chilcot Inquiry except there will be popcorn on hand...” Damon gives his usual hard-as-nails physical performance, aided by the fact that his troops are mostly veterans of the Iraq war, not actors, and when they zippily arrest, cuff and hood prisoners, it is chillingly convincing...

The Independent“Ambiguity gets squashed underfoot by all the chasing and shouting...” Greengrass, with his superkinetic camerawork and visceral sense of you-are-there immediacy, pieces together a compelling picture of a ground force trying (and failing) to order a city on the slide towards anarchy. The style has its drawbacks...

Little White Lies“Greengrass knows the game...” Tonally consistent regardless of content, Green Zone gets the blood pumping while avoiding sensationalism. It offers a version of filmic truth in a place beset by confusion, deception and misdirection...

The Telegraph“Breathless but oddly disengaged...” Where all this is heading is a prolonged street chase with helicopters overhead, GPS co-ordinates flashing away, John Powell’s thunderous score getting a little exhausting, and the Truth At Stake – breathless, yes, but oddly disengaged...

Variety“Exceptional panoramic vistas of Baghdad under siege...” Employing his customary whiplash style of shooting and editing, Greengrass wants to plunk the viewer right down in the hellish anarchy that Baghdad soon became in 2003...

Empire“It’s striking...” Bourne goes epic. A wham-bam actioner, but its pointed political subtext ensures Damon and Greengrass deliver their most provocative mission yet...

Time Out film“The action is robust, the politics simplified but strident...” Greengrass’s approach to real-life disaster is far more simplified and pumped up here than it was in ‘United 93’ or ‘Bloody Sunday’, but there’s much to be said for his ‘Bourne in Baghdad’ approach...

Total Film “The same kinetic velocity as a Jason Bourne car chase...” Breathless action and complex intrigue ensure we are hooked throughout an expertly orchestrated war-zone thriller. Damon’s breakneck race involves a tense house raid, an undercover op inside a military prison and an explosive finale...