The Kingdom [2007]

The Kingdom [2007]
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Set in Saudi Arabia, The Kingdom is a political action thriller with good acting and wonderful visuals. Its so-so script, though, at times meanders aimlessly until a good explosion jolts the viewer's attention back to the screen. Jamie Foxx stars as FBI special agent Ronald Fleury, who leads an elite team into Saudi Arabia to find the terrorists who attacked American employees working in the Middle East. He has been given the unlikely deadline of five days to infiltrate the compound, with just his wit and his crew, which includes forensics expert Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), explosives guru Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), and intelligence analyst Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman). It's unclear how helpful smarmy U.S. diplomat Damon Schmidt (Jeremy Piven) will be, but Fleury knows enough to surmise that the media-hungry Schmidt might not be completely trustworthy. Foxx and Garner have wonderful screen presence, but it's Bateman and Piven who get the best lines. Director Peter Berg peppers The Kingdom with actors he has worked with in the past. Berg, who guest-starred on Alias opposite Garner, casts Tim McGraw in a small role here. (The country singer also had a co-starring role in Berg's 2004 film Friday Night Lights.) And Kyle Chandler and Minka Kelly--two of Berg's lead actors from the Friday Night Lights television series, , make appearances in The Kingdom. The action sequences he creates are impressive and generate a sense of panic that The Kingdom producer Michael Mann (Miami Vice) undoubtedly applauds. While a tauter script would've rounded out the action nicely, the action in many cases does speak for itself. --Jae-Ha Kim

Reviews


An above average action movie
Review date: 2008-12-10 Rating: 8 out of 10

If you like the TV shows Criminal Minds and CSI, with a bit of West Wing thrown in for good measure, then this DVD should appeal. A group of FBI agents are flown in to investigate a car bomb atrocity in Saudi Arabi, encountering not only the problems of solving a crime, but also a completely different culture. How they cope with this is one of the strong points of the movie and that, along with the incredible ambush scene on a crowded highway, are what raises this movie above the average.

I particularly liked the DVD extras - especially the detailed analysis of how the fast moving motorised ambush scene was carried out, as well as the way the final showdown was put together.

An action movie with strong performances, and intelligent script that makes you think, and incredible action sequences.

2 out of 3 ain't bad
Review date: 2008-11-18 Rating: 8 out of 10

the film starts off well showing the political ties between the countries over the years , then comes the terrorist bombing and again its well done then its over to the fbi headquarters and i found this stage of the film up until they start investigating the bomb site in saudi arabia a bit boring and jumping from scene to scene following the different characters is always confusing {i found it far easier reading the subtitles }.
i found the way this is filmed very similar to black hawk down and if you liked that film you will love this one , once the fbi and saudi police start tracking the terrorist it gets very tense and exciting and i won't spoil anything but the last 30 minutes of this film is utterly fantastic and some of the action sequences are so realistic it virtually blows you away . by the time the credits start to roll this film will have won you over but it is hard going in the middle third but please stay with it because the finale is a stormer.

Stomach-churning
Review date: 2008-11-15 Rating: 2 out of 10

For the first hour 'The Kingdom' comes across as one of those reasonably entertaining detective thrillers, where out-of-town cops have to battle against local bureaucracy and incompetence, only this time the cops are FBI agents working in Saudi Arabia. But around the halfway mark the film discards any pretence of intelligence, and the hole-ridden plot is buried beneath one of the longest and most tedious gun-battles you're likely to see.

Nevertheless, the film still raises some important questions.

Firstly, why is an actor as talented as Chris Cooper appearing in this ridiculous, objectionable and shallow piece of American 'War on Terror' propaganda? And secondly, when will directors realise that jerky, hand-held, so-called documentary-style camerawork and jump-cut editing do not make a film more exciting, they just make the audience feel nauseous?

If you want to see Cooper at his best, appearing in a genuinely suspenseful movie, then buy the FBI spy thriller 'Breach' instead. Or John Sayles' marvellously subversive 'Lone Star'. Those are two films that really are worth watching.

Kingdom come
Review date: 2008-11-13 Rating: 6 out of 10

This starts well, with a snappy title sequence using archive and news commentary to explain the tortured relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US. What follows is a thriller that's slightly above average. The FBI want to investigate a terrorist attack on American citizens in Riyadh - a move which is unpopular both with the Saudis and the State Department. The last third of the film is a loud crash bang shoot-up and there is some semblance of commentary on the endless circle of violence we're living in right now. As usual these days you'd think the camera operator had a bad case of Parkinsons. If you're hesitating about spending a couple of quid to buy this, a cameo from the truly gorgeous Minka Kelly might sway it for you...

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Jamie Foxx
Jennifer Garner
Chris Cooper
Jason Bateman
Jeremy Piven

Creators:
Jamie Foxx (Primary Contributor)
Jennifer Garner (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
EAN: 5050582529401
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-01-28
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007
Language: English (Original Language)

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