Green Zone may yield red ink

Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are at it again. The star and director of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum have teamed up again on another kinetic blockbuster, the sprawling $100 million thriller Green Zone.

However, Universal Pictures may have a problem turning a profit this time around, given that this film's subject matter has often seen a high box office failure rate.

Damon's character, Roy Miller, is loosely based on Chief Warrant Officer Richard Lamont Gonzales, who led a mobile exploitation team directed to find "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, which turned out to be a fool's errand.

The audience is treated to a huge action sequence up front when Baghdad is demolished in the U.S. Army's "shock and awe" phase, as Iraqi Bathist generals scramble to regroup. A month later, the city is looted clean. Miller's team ransacks a toilet factory in vain, expecting a chemical weapons factory. Despite all the "actionable, solid, good to go" intelligence the Army serves up (which is touted in the film), Miller always rolls a donut.

Risking his career, Miller raises hell at a meeting. Here he encounters another frustrated maverick soul in Martin Brown, a 30-year CIA veteran who is every bit as vocal as Miller. "We cannot hand the country to an exile nobody's ever heard of and a bunch of interns in D.C.," he bellows, guaranteeing civil war within six months.

The country is in chaos, with revenge killings every night. At another site, a local approaches. Freddy happened by the generals' meeting place and helpfully drops a dime on them. Miller raids the place, but the notorious "Jack of Clubs," Al Rawi, slips away. A notebook containing information on military safe houses is found and is given to Freddy for translation.

Before long, U.S. Special Forces show up to grab a key prisoner. Agent Briggs punches out Miller when he makes a fuss. But, Miller earns a promotion from Brown. They meet in the majestic Green Zone, full of beer and bikini-clad babes, to examine the notebook.

Wall Street Journal reporter Lawrie Dayne witnesses their huddle and tries to pump Miller for a scoop. Dayne, who Miller discovers after Googling her, has been fed a steady stream of inaccurate tripe by neo-conservative government operative Clark Poundstone. Brown and Poundstone vie for

Miller's services and, when he sides with Brown, he loses the support of half of his squad.

The film moves into high gear, as each of the characters race to nab Al Rawi first. Special Forces want to take him out, while Brown and Miller have some nebulous ideas about collaboration to keep the peace. Miller has to race around town with $1 million in a duffel bag to entice a meeting of the minds.

Damon capably handles his role, passionately making decisions and finding answers when not running for his life. Greg Kinnear does the best work possible in his two-dimensional role as Poundstone, stone-walling doubters and defending the administration to the hilt.

Brendan Gleeson does a memorable job chewing up the scenery as the larger-than-life Brown. Amy Ryan is interesting as the WASP-y Dayne. Khalid Abdalla, last seen in The Kite Runner, is just terrific as Freddy. Yigal Naor, who played Saddam Hussein in HBO's House of Saddam, is very good as Al Rawi. Jason Isaacs gives a spirited performance as Agent Briggs.

The predictable ending feels questionable and unconvincing. Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) told the L.A. Times, "We could never make up our mind on who lived and who died and who should kill whom." It certainly feels that way up on the screen. He does give viewers a hearty laugh with the U.S. base near the end: Camp Cropper.

The audience at my screening zestfully hissed when President Bush appeared via video. Green Zone wears its politics on its sleeve, especially in didactic speeches by Iraqis. If only its ending were a bit less transparent, it might find more success at the box office.