--- title: "Green Zone: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/green-zone/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/green-zone" critics_score: 61 critics_reviews: 21 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Green Zone (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 61 from 21 reviews: 10 positive, 6 mixed, 5 negative. Most critics come down on the film’s side, though not by a wide margin. The praise gathers around Greengrass’s handling of Baghdad in the weeks after Saddam’s fall: the reviews single out the chaos on the ground, the urgency of the action and the way locations in Spain, Morocco and the UK pass for Iraq. Several find the thriller gripping, and Matt Damon’s grounded lead is noted more than once. The reservations cluster on the join between the politics and the chase. Some critics think the message is blunt and preachy; others think the suspense plot is contrived and resolves too neatly for the real events behind it. The shaky camera draws complaints from more than one quarter, with Slant finding the climactic chase incoherent. The spread is wide, from the Evening Standard’s admiration to The Wrap and Slant calling it a misfire, and the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw rates it below Greengrass’s earlier work. ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The critic calls Green Zone a thrilling, morally complex addition to the best war films. They especially praise Khalid Abdalla’s performance and Greengrass’s energetic direction and ethical curiosity. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/green-zone-is-one-of-the-best-war-films-ever-made-7418999.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2010. The critic calls it a remarkable film, praising its energetic, urgent action. He singles out Greengrass and his team for making locations in Spain, Morocco and the U.K. feel like a chaotic Iraq. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/green-zone-film-review-29373/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 March 2010. Turan finds the film daring, highly entertaining, and nearly successful, though its final sections lose some of their earlier balance. He praises Greengrass’s vivid rendering of Iraq’s chaos and the film’s willingness to engage with the moral complexities of the war. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-12-la-et-green-zone12-2010mar12-story.html) ## Radio Times — Trevor Johnston Rating 4/5. Johnston finds the film delivers high-octane entertainment. He praises its startling immediacy in depicting the chaos after Saddam’s fall. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-krg9sj/green-zone/) ## Total Film — Neil Smith Rating 4/5. 25 February 2010. Smith finds Green Zone an expertly orchestrated, gripping war-zone thriller. He praises its breathless action and complex intrigue, especially the way Miller’s pursuit is driven by indignation at being misled. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/green-zone-review/) ## Empire — Mark Dinning Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 24 February 2010. Dinning finds it an honest, compelling and smart blockbuster that balances political substance with exciting action. He praises Matt Damon’s grounded performance, while faulting the film for flattening the Iraq conflict’s moral ambiguity. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/green-zone-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 3/4. 10 March 2010. Ebert finds the film an effective political thriller, though its action-thriller approach limits its political force. He singles out the energetic, urgent action for praise. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/green-zone-2010) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating B-. 11 March 2010. Tobias finds Green Zone an effective, tense thriller whose politics sometimes overwhelm the action. He praises its ground-level depiction of Baghdad’s disorder and the consequences of dismantling Iraqi institutions. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/green-zone-1798164539) ## Screen Daily — Mark Adams Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 5 March 2010. The page identifies this as a review, but the review text is behind a paywall. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint are not visible. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/green-zone/5011219.article) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 12 March 2010. Scott’s verdict is mixed, finding the film energetic but not wholly persuasive. He singles out its frantic, kinetic action as a strength. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/movies/12green.html) ## Time Out — Ben Walters Rating 3/5. 9 March 2010. The page identifies this as a review, but its review text is unavailable here. The available metadata offers no reliable account of the critic’s verdict or singled-out praise or complaint. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/green-zone-1) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 4 March 2010. McCarthy finds the film’s political critique more convincing than its suspense plot, which becomes contrived. He praises the vivid, realistic depiction of Baghdad while faulting the thriller elements for undermining credibility. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/green-zone-1117942351/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 7 March 2010. Lane finds the film’s relentless thrills increasingly unsatisfying and its resolution too neat for the real events it depicts. He praises its grip and pace, but faults Greengrass for overlooking the contrast between Baghdad’s streets and the Green Zone’s unreality. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/03/15/under-the-gun-2) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 March 2010. Bradshaw finds the film less satisfying than Greengrass’s earlier work, with a predictable story and action that lacks excitement. He praises its technical flair, but says it falls short of the director’s best films. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/mar/11/green-zone-film-review) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager Rating 0.5/4. 9 March 2010. Schager gives the film a sharply negative verdict, finding its politics simplistic and its docudrama approach disingenuous. He particularly criticizes the frenetic, incoherent action, singling out the climactic chase as visually muddled. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/green-zone/) ## HeyUGuys — Gary Phillips Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 8 March 2010. The critic finds Green Zone a compelling, thought-provoking political thriller that grows more enjoyable on reflection. They praise its realistic locations, performances, and tense action, while criticizing the excessive shaky camera work. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/review-green-zone/) ## Digital Spy — Simon Reynolds Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 8 March 2010. The review calls it a gripping action film, though its political themes do not fully mesh with its humanism. It praises Greengrass’s urgent visual style and the way he turns Baghdad’s chaos into compelling action. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a199670/green-zone/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page is blocked by anti-crawler protection, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No praise or complaint is visible in the supplied text. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-green-zone-heady-mixture-of-20100311/) ## Den of Geek — Nicole Kobie Rating 3/5. 8 March 2010. Kobie finds Green Zone an okay film that falls short because its politics are preachy and its suspense is undermined by hindsight. She praises Damon’s energetic action presence but criticizes the confusing, overused shaky camerawork. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/green-zone-review/) ## NME — Owen Nicholls Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 March 2010. Nicholls finds the film’s politics condescending and its long final chase anticlimactic, despite its potential as a thrilling thriller. He praises Greengrass’s ability to create suspense but says the film’s blunt political messaging undermines it. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/review-green-zone-is-middle-eastern-politics-for-dummies-41883) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 11 March 2010. The critic considers the film a misfire, arguing that it turns a complex political problem into a simplistic action thriller. They single out its thinly drawn characters as a major weakness. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/too-bad-green-zone-wasnt-documentary-15186/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/green-zone.md