The Kingdom

Wilsford's Review
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Notable Characters:
Jaime Foxx – Ronald Fleury
Chris Cooper – Grant Sykes
Jennifer Garner – Janet Mayes
Jason Bateman – Adam Leavitt
Ashraf Barhom – Col. Faris Al Ghazi

Plot (contains spoilers): On an American military base in Saudi Arabia, a small group of terrorists break into the compound and set off a bomb killing themselves and a dozen others. However this attack was only the bait to get more Americans on the base so that later that evening they could set up another bomb, bigger and deadlier. This attack resulted in the FBI sending over a small task force to investigate. Met with much hostility from the US government and resistance from the Saudi government, the task force is not able to do much investigating. Until special agent Fleury makes a bold move to confront the Prince of Saudi Arabia and convinces him to let his team work. After some investigating, they realize that this attack was carried out by terrorist Abu Hamza. After this discovery the US forces the team to return to the states only to be ambushed on the road and have their partner, Adam Leavitt, captured. Following the kidnappers they arrive in a very unfriendly part of town and are involved in a 20 minute shoot out which results in the saving of Leavitt and the death of many terrorists including Hamza.

Reasons why I didn’t like it:
• Action was slow in the middle. It started off with an action scene, the base bombing, but then slowed till the end.
• Jennifer Garner, don’t like her too much. I was never a fan of “Alias”, I didn’t want to see “13 Going on 30”, I really don’t think she is that cute (large forehead), and I don’t think she is that great of an actor. She was just okay in this movie.
• It seemed that they took a page out of the Bourn movies as it goes for cinematography. Please stop with the handheld. It makes me want to barf and you don’t want customers barfing at your movie.

Reason why I liked it:
• Acting was great. I know I just said bad things about Garner, but that doesn’t take away from everyone else. Foxx was good, Bateman was great, and Chris Cooper was awesome. Cooper didn’t have much screen time but when he was on, he was good and I can’t really explain why I liked him so much, I just did.
• Action was stellar. The end scene was more than enough. It wasn’t unrealistic, it was intense, and fast paced. I don’t like using clichés, but from the time that Bateman’s character was kidnapped till the end, I was on the edge of my seat.
• Ending was perfect. I usually don’t want to see movies that involve the US and the Middle East because they are usually political and I don’t really agree with Hollywood’s politics. However, I didn’t think that this was very political if at all. The ending really summed up this war is all about; it is a battle of ideologies. We didn’t do anything wrong, we are Americans and they want us dead.

Final Notes: Easily the best movie of the fall and probably the second best movie of the year. It is violent but it is a great movie.

Young's Review
Fans of the action genre have plenty to be excited about in 'The Kingdom'. They will just have to wait a while to get to the good stuff.

While the movie takes a while to really rev up its engine, the finished product is both thought provoking and entertaining. This movie definitely gets a "thumbs up". The acting and directing were top notch, and the movie even made a political statement without choosing sides.

The movie centers around a FBI task force, led by Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx), that goes to Saudi Arabia to investigate a bombing of an American military base against the wishes of The White House. Once there, the group finds itself stonewalled by the Saudi prince when they attempt to get to the bottom of the case. Saudi army colonel Faris Al-Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom) is assigned to escort the team around the bombing site to make sure they don't find too many answers. As the film progresses, however, Al-Ghazi's desire to find the suspect behind the crime causes him to join forces with the Americans. Barhom was a revelation as Al-Ghazi. He stole the spotlight from a top-notch cast that included Chris Cooper (Breach), Jennifer Garner (Catch and Release) and Jason Bateman (TV's 'Arrested Development'). He deftly displayed the inner turmoil Al-Ghazi felt in trying to solve the case. His metamorphosis from a soldier towing the company line to a man in search of the truth was captivating. Here's hoping we see more of Barhom in future films.

In addition to Barhom's powerhouse performance, the rest of the cast was strong as well. The credit for that should go partly to director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), who also made a cameo in the film. He kept the first half of the movie moving along, despite the heavy amount of exposition that went into setting up the story. Garner turned in a reliable performance as forensic expert Janet Mayes that was reminiscent of her days as Sydney Bristow on 'Alias'. Cooper, one of the best actors around that no one knows about, was underutilized in the role of Grant Sykes. Bateman balanced comedic and dramatic moments in his role as captured agent Adam Leavitt. Jeremy Piven also brought comic relief in a brief appearance as a U.S. state department official.

The film takes painstaking effort to make the enemy human. A look inside the home of the bombing's mastermind makes the ending harder to swallow. We see that the fight may never end because both sides will stop at nothing to win.

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