Did the Bush administration lie about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction to justify America's invasion of Iraq in 2003?

That explosive question sets the stage for "Green Zone," Paul Greengrass's pulse-pounding Iraq war thriller.

Seven years after the Iraq war began, with still no evidence of WMDs, Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland have pulled together a rip-roaring, Jason-Bourne-meets-Jack-Bauer ride that dares ask if Americans were duped by their president.

They also point a finger at the "faulty" intelligence that American politicians sold to the media, so some argue, to throw the U.S. into war.

Conspiracy theorists believe that to be true, although no real evidence can support their claims.

Are they wrong? Are they right?

This film's dizzying blur of fiction and non-fictional elements sourced from the political bestseller, "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," favours the latter.

But, the "Green Zone's" real black-and-white meaning rings loud and true. When any country goes to war they better be damn sure why they are doing it -- and for who.

Damon plays it smart and cool

Starring Matt Damon as Roy Miller, this cool, calibrated, all-American soldier spends his days tracking down WMDs in the newly "liberated" Iraq during the early months of its Coalition occupation.

"That's what I came here for," Miller tells one U.S. official. "To find WMDs and give this country back its future."

After several WMD raids turn up empty, however, by-the-book Miller goes rogue and starts looking for answers.

"There's something going on here, sir. The intel's not right," Miller tells his commanding officer.

Every higher-up Miller approaches dismisses his concerns, painting them and him as troublesome bothers America does not need.

"The info has been vetted. Democracy costs," Miller is told, particularly by one nefarious bureaucrat (Greg Kinnear) who represents the Bush administration.

Everyone accepts this weasel's "intel" at face value, including one Wall Street journalist who forgoes any fact-checking just to sell more papers.

Miller, thankfully, just isn't buying it.

Together with a cagey CIA operative (Brendan Gleeson), Miller learns exactly why and how the wrong WMD intel keeps surfacing.

Miller takes no prisoners as he guns for the truth. But, the bombshell he ultimately unearths tosses the very idea of democratic government into the trash heap. It also leaves us tax-paying "Ordinary Joe" little guys asking, "How in the hell did all this happen?"

"The Green Zone" still has issues.

Damon's performance is strong. But, his boy-scout soldiering can feel predictable.

The same applies to Bush henchman Clark Poundstone (Kinnear). This baby-faced crony in the well-pressed suit never exceeds the usual, two-dimensional Hollywood stereotypes.

Greengrass's whirling camera work also feels more rote than original at times.

Despite these flaws, the "Green Zone" hits it out of the ballpark when we see U.S. embassy officials partying poolside as Iraq civilians struggle to survive outside their gates.

That one image is as much a horror as any the "Green Zone" delivers.

Another hard-hitting moment comes when an Iraq interpreter tells Miller exactly what his countrymen feel about America's presence in their country.

"It is not for you Americans to decide what happens here," the man blurts out just as the final piece to this political puzzle falls within Miller's grasp.

Some may not wish to hear such stinging words. But, that "truth" will surely leave "Green Zone" audiences thinking about what is worth fighting for in a modern, civilized world, and what is not.

Three stars out of four.