Of Pace & Politics

"Nice keffiyeh."

Let's just get my politics out of the way pretty quickly. I mean, you gotta be up front with these kinds of things, right? This movie has divided critics and columnists like nobody's business, and it's easy to see why: "Green Zone" is total, unabashed liberal propaganda.

And I'm TOTALLY alright with that.

I have taken multiple online tests, had various conversations, and even registered myself, because I feel to need to reiterate that I'm a soft-spoken liberal. I don't think I pick fights over shit, but I'll stand my ground and open an ear if need be. That said, I must admit my like for liberal and/or apolitical propaganda.

Examples: I love the divisive, yet populist appeal of films like "High Noon" and "Hurt Locker." I despise films with deliberate, right leaning messages like "Red Dawn" and "300." And I shamelessly love liberal fiction such as "Milk," "An Inconvenient Truth" and just about anything Michael Moore makes. I love liberal message movies, not just because I tend to align with their messages — human rights, global conscientiousness, et al — but liberal propaganda tends to just get the message across in a far smarter, more cinematic way. And anyone that calls "Red Dawn" thoughtful, not only must have had a red rock hit across their head, but they have bad taste too.

But, I hate to admit, that's why I'm not in love with "Green Zone." It's politics entice, but the pacing, development and execution of the final product, is just damn sloppy.

An abridged war:

- "Green Zone" is at odds with itself. The politics (which is the side I'm on), gets tangled up in the pace and plot (of which I'm at odds).

- Paul Greengrass knows how to keep shit tight, tense and terrific. "United 93" and "Bourne Ultimatum" attest to the man's ability to take political, international fare and make things kinetic, yet contained. He gives you these peaks of action, then calms things back down and still builds into satisfying conclusions. I'd dare to call him one of today's most exciting directors despite the whole handheld camera handicap he gives himself. But, "Green Zone" goes a step too far in keeping the proceedings frenetic, and in the end it sacrifices character development and emotional response for the sake of intensity. When the movie has all highs, and no lows, it becomes flat. You're thrown in, forced to follow Matt Damon's Captain Roy Miller, with no development beyond names and the mission for WMD's. And Greengrass expects us to keep following action packed military scenes, with little to no room to breath. I mean, some of these are pretty good (the helicopter following folks in the end is pretty sweet), but it's no rolled up magazine fight. The action is well staged, but so spazzy that we never have time to truly appreciate what's happening in terms of story and consequence. Arguably, it's messy, you know, like uh the war. But that doesn't make the film more watchable.

- Lastly, by now, "Green Zone" could pass for fact. We found no WMD's. It was a bit of a global joke. "Mission Accomplished" and many other facets of the Iraq War have brought nothing but cynicism in the eyes of folks like me. That's why, I was totally alright with the film's brash messages, that the war was a hype, and middle eastern politics are not for us to decide upon. Liberal conspiracy theory? We'll talk next time.

So yeah, it was OK. See it if you want. If you're not sure, just please watch this instead: