The Bourne Zone

(March 11, 2010)

I'm going to see Green Zone, starring Matt Damon, on Friday to review it with Chris Schnese for The Spoiler Warning podcast.

Before I do though, I thought I'd share my thoughts going in so that you can read them, then listen to the podcast, to see if I was right or if the movie ended up being different than I thought it would be.

Basically, this movie looks like another entry in the Bourne series, only Matt Damon is playing some dude name Roy or something. I'm basically expecting some kind of government agency doing something covert, needed Matt Damon to do some crazy stuff to make the covert operation happen, then some gun battles will happen, maybe some running, probably some kind of vehicular chase, then the mission will get done and we will all have learned a little something about ourselves.

Here's the thing: I've never really been a fan of Damon as an action star. He looks kind of soft, like he's just one little emotional turn away from bursting into tears. And I really like him in comedy roles, like as one of a set of conjoined twins in Stuck On You with Greg Kinnear. He doesn't have that intense quality like Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Daniel Craig, or even Leonardo DiCaprio have in those roles. To me, it's kind of like putting Ed Helms (Andy Bernard from The Office) in an action role. Sure, he could deliver the lines and not screw up the scenes, but it would just feel weird the whole time.

Speaking of The Office, I'm glad to see that the actress who played Michael Scott's girlfriend Holly land a leading role in a movie. Good for her. I just wonder if she called up Chris Cooper to get some pointers on how to play the role of the government person working just above Jason Bou--er--this Roy dude.

Still though, this movie could end up being pretty good. I bet it will have a good enough plot to keep it interesting, the action will be intense, and I'm sure it will get the blood pumping just a little bit.

So...stay tuned for a link to The Spoiler Warning sometime this weekend to see what I think after I see it...