The Kingdom (2007)

If you are sympathetic to Arabs, this may not be the best movie to watch; if you vote Republican and own a gun, this is the film for you. Following a U.S. base bombing in Saudi Arabia, a small team of FBI agents make their way into The Kingdom to investigate. One of them eventually gets abducted, and the other three, aided by two Saudi soldiers, fight to get him back. Despite what I said at the onset, this is a really good, really intense movie. There is rarely a break in the action, and when there is, the plot grows and deepens. The cast of this film is terrific. This is the type of movie Jamie Foxx should be making; not a lot of deep acting, just fast action and walking around like a hard-ass. This is also a perfect role for Jen Garner, and Chris Cooper, as always, is amazing. The best performance in The Kingdom comes from Jason Bateman, who is not a common feature in action films. Everything he says in this movie, or at any other time, is hilarious, but he does it in a way that does not overwhelm the seriousness of the plot. Additionally, there is an awesome, incredibly intense fight seen involving Bateman, Garner and a huge Arab; it alone makes The Kingdom worthwhile. This movie is a little explosion heavy, and it tries hard to show that not all middle easterners are evil, but it only makes that point at the very end of the film. The trailers I recall were relatively misleading; it was my belief that this movie was more about recovering a hostage than solving a crime, but that may have been a misinterpretation of my part. The Kingdom is not going to win any Oscars, but it verges on being a must see in terms of getting a deeper understanding of the United States relationship with Saudi Arabia. That is not to say that all the depictions in this movie should be taken as fact, but it does give an interesting look into the duality of the Saudi people and government. On the one hand, they are religiously opposed to our policies, but on the other, they are rich beyond belief because of our oil consumption. My wife wanted to see this movie with me, but she is out of town and I was bored. I definitely recommend seeing this film; I give The Kingdom 3 and a half stars.