Reel Critics:

Paul Greengrass directed Matt Damon in two of the heart-pounding thrillers in the “Bourne” series. It’s an easy transition for him to jump into the military and political intrigue of the early days of our invasion of Iraq in 2003. The enclave known as “The Green Zone” has become famous as the fortified heart of Baghdad designed for the elite of the American command.

They live in luxury and isolation above the nasty battles that kill and maim ordinary soldiers and civilians.

Matt Damon plays an honorable officer on the hunt for Saddam’s elusive weapons of mass destruction. The alleged existence of these biological or chemical weapons was a big part of the rationale for the conflict.

Greg Kinnear plays a senior official who seems more in tune with shadowy Halliburton operatives than our troops.

The two men come into conflict when they both start chasing after a high-ranking informant at the heart of the misdirected intelligence.

He’s a former Iraqi general who knows the murky truth behind the decision to invade.

Many violent shoot-outs and chaotic chase scenes follow this premise. The Hollywood formula for this genre is faithfully employed. The action is intense, but the payoff is predictable.

‘League’ falls a bit flat

“She’s Out of My League” would not be even remotely watchable without the gangly dorkiness of Jay Baruchel.

In this tame knockoff of “Knocked Up,” hopelessly hapless Kirk (Baruchel) has such low self-esteem he tries to win back his snarky ex-girlfriend in front of her boyfriend, who all still hang out in his parents’ home.

So when Kirk (a “5”) is asked out by lovely, self-assured “hard 10” Molly (Alice Eve) you do wonder, along with Kirk’s buddies, what the attraction is.

True, there’s a sweetness about him, and who doesn’t root for the geeks to inherit the Earth. But the poor guy needs a shot of personality and some backbone.

Even Molly seems too good to be true in how quickly she falls for the guy without any reservations.

Kirk’s best friends — nebbishy in their own right — provide a few funny moments such as referring to Molly’s dour BFF as the “Hamburgler,” or when attending to some very up-close-and-personal grooming.

This comedy is likable in a harmless, unchallenging way, much like Kirk himself.

After deducting major points for the painfully cheesy ending, I would give this a 4.5 on the laugh scale.

SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company. JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office.