Posted on 09/28/2007 1:53:08 PM PDT by LS
Edited on 09/28/2007 2:36:32 PM PDT by Lead Moderator. [history]
This action/thriller could have devolved into a giant PC "can't-we-all-get-along" tolerance-fest. Fortunately, except for a line at the end (no, I won't spoil it), it does not. It brings home the lack of freedom present in Saudi Arabia, combined with the best in suspense and action. Although Jamie Foxx is clearly the star, the ensemble that includes Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and Ashraf Barhoum keeps the focus on solving the terrorist attack on the U.S. compound, not on personalities.
Directed by Peter Berg ("The Rundown," "Very Bad things"), the story follows four FBI agents who desperately want to go to Saudi Arabia to find out who killed 100 Americans, including one of their colleagues. Through subtle blackmail, Foxx (Special Agent Ronald Fleury) convinces the Saudi ambassador to "insist" on obtaining the FBI's help---despite the fact the politicians in Washington want to leave it in the hands of the Saudis. Fleury's team arrive on what is essentially Mars: they cannot have firearms, passports, cannot touch evidence, cannot even poke around at the "crime" scene; they may not touch dead Muslims at all; and the Saudi men nearly have a heart attack when Garner (Special Agent Janet Mayes) steps off the plane in a tight t-shirt. They face further obstructions in the form of the local U.S. representative, Damon Schmidt (played ever so smarmily by Jeremy Piven). And they are given only five days to solve the "crime," although the line between terrorists and criminals is appropriately blurred.
The bombing scene is horrific: a compound baseball game is interrupted by literally a "drive-by" shooting (no, not the U.S. media---the other terrorists). But that's a diversion for the suicide bomber, who takes out a good 20 people. . . . but he's just a diversion for the truck bomber, who kills over 100 in a gruesome explosion. Director Berg does not go overboard, but he does show enough to get the revenge juices flowing.
Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhoum), a Saudi military policeman, is the only competent Saudi on the scene, but he's subordinate to his blunt-force Army general. Fleury pockets enough evidence that he convinces Al Ghazi to let the team work; and in turn, through a meeting with Prince Khaled, Al Ghazi and Fleury gain enough clout to seriously investigate.
Trailers say don't miss the last 30 minutes. That's because the terrorists decide to take out the agents, first through the old car-bomb trick, then by snatching one of them (Adam Leavitt, played by Jason Bateman) from the explosion scene so they can behead him in front of the camera.
Neither Al Ghazi nor Fleury's team will allow that to happen, tracking the terrorists in a high-speed chase to their lair in an apartment building, where Mayes (naturally, the female always manages to separate herself from the rest of the group) stumbles upon a tied-up and gagged Leavitt and blasts away at the bad guys. The outcome of this battle within a battle even elicited cheers from our small audience in mid-afternoon, and other reviewers say audiences everywhere erupt in cheers over the conclusion of this scene.
While there is something of an obligatory "violence begets violence" line at the end, it's a throwaway. The audiences know what has happened: the Americans and their decent ally have kicked terrorist butt. A number of scenes, however, subtly show how immense the task ahead of us is, because for every Al Ghazi we see in the movie, there are at least three bomb-makers, all missing a couple of fingers. On many levels, this movie depicts the larger struggle behind the War on Terror, namely the fight for liberty over an oppresive religous world-view.
BY THE WAY, ALL, HEADS UP: I forgot to mention a preview of a movie (forget the title) about an Arab American who is “unjustly” nabbed by our security at an airport and whisked off to Egypt or some other friendly country for “questioning.” It’s all about the evil Patriot Act/War on Terror/Club Gitmo!
Me and some college friends saw The Kingdom today. It’s a good action film, and gives an authentic insight into the horrors of terrorism. Everyone should see it. It will show them what our armed forces are up against and hopefully garner some respect for our troops. It will also remind them why we’re fighting this war on terror—if 9/11 is nothing but a six-year-old tragic memory in the public’s mind, this will remind them what those radical Muslim savages are really like.
LOL. And it happened so often, too. If there were nine men and one woman running away from the bad guys/monster, and one of the men was limping, another was 80 years old, and another was the comic relief character who always injured himself, it would STILL be the woman who tripped and fell. (eyeroll)
Glad to see the times are a-changing.
You know if Hollywood wanted to put a twist in a movie the should make the South Africans the good guys. It would be a TOTAL SURPRISE. LOL!
So no more ZERO star reviews for films that he likes the cast, director, cinematography, etc. but hates the politics of (like the film with the murderer getting the death penalty in Texas)?
He said that “no way” could/should that movie be set in Texas where so many people have been put to death.
Now that, is a good idea!
The only other movie I have been to this year is Spiderman. The 7:15 Friday night show was 90% full with mostly adults and very few teens in attendance. I am seeing the obnoxious trend of parents taking their pre-teens to "R" movies. Even 5-6 year old were dragged in by their parents. Those are the same parents that buy their kids Grand Theft Auto and wind up capping some guy's ass when they are 12. Nice.... "The Kingdom" is a solid action/drama movie without any lame speech making. It clearly presented the extremist threat without oversimplifying the problem. Some Saudis are our friends, many just don’t care and a whole bunch would kill us on sight.
The gun play was an 8 out of 10. Car crashes also were an 8 out of 10. Lots of AK's, HK's, RPG's and M-4's. What the heck was that miniature pump action (40mm?) grenade launcher? No bikinis or the obligatory and awkwardly placed make out scene were in this movie. Jennifer Garner's chesticles did get an honorable mention by one of the characters in the movie though. Funny how the Saudis were taken aback by the Americans swearing, - "Sh*t!" - "Do you have to go to the bathroom now?" The last scene of the movie left the theater silent and was the proper message to take away from this movie IMHO.
Lastly the movie moved -very- quickly. I never glanced at my watch during the entire show and was surprised when it ended. Good tight editing. A little too much of the "shaky" camera syndrome though. I'll give it four stars.... Thanks for the great movie review LS!
After seeing your pic on the range, I don’t think you would be falling down & tripping in any scenario!
I went to see 3:10 To Yuma tonight with my younger daughter (17)
As we were leaving the multiplex here at Green Hills, we literally ran into Bill and Karyn Frist coming out across the hallway from The Kingdom.
My dad had known them, but I left them be. I’ve never been one to press myself on known folks....unlike my mother or my wife...lol
I did wonder what they thought of the movie since I feared from what I read it would be very PC.
3:10 To Yuma was great....nothing PC or social engineered whatsoever....how refreshing
starring the lovely Ms Witherspoon and that closeted lad Gyllenhall
Thanks for the review of the film.
And, thanks for the review of your family. lol
Y’all know everyone. ;o)
there’s just a lot of celeb type action in nashville for it’s size and it’s all sorta concentrated around the area where I live
my dad gave them money and went to functions....my dad was actually more personal with Miss politicians from Sonny to Thad and Trent and going back to John and Jim
i just donate...flesh pressing ain’t me and I don’t want to be a liability to anyone
Frist was shorter than I’d reckoned
You said it just as well. The cursing scene was funny.
BTW, just based on the previews, "Elizabeth" looks pretty good.
I heard they refused to use High Capacity Glocks in the movie........:o)
I wait for the DVD's....thanks for the review.
Stay safe !
Hey LS,
Good to see you still here. I haven’t seen the Kingdom yet.
I’ll have to.
If they didn’t use High Capacity Glocks in the movie, I don’t think they’ll be in the DVD either...;^) (hehehe)
His review of ‘The Life of David Gale’ was based on the his perception of it cheating on a serious subject matter. Pulling the audience this way and that way without taking any stand about the subject matter.
The upcomoing "Elizabeth" movie looks really good, too, at least from the trailers.
PS: why are they called "trailers" when they precede the movie?
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