by Steph Sharples
Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences.

During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.

Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region. And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth. Most political war films set in Iraq have had a very hard time at the box office. Even The Hurt Locker, the front-runner for Best Picture, only managed to earn $16.8 million worldwide. Green Zone does have some significant advantages however. First of all, it has Matt Damon, one of the most consistently bankable stars today. It was also directed by Paul Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum). The studio hopes to bring in the large and dedicated fan base of the Bourne series, a fan-base that encompasses a wide variety of demographics. Green Zone was made for a hefty $150 million (rumored), so it will be interesting to see just how well it does. After seeing the trailer and featurette, I'll be there opening weekend. Green Zone opens March 12, 2010, and also stars Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear and Amy Ryan.