The Kingdom [2007]

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Editorial reviews

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

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Customer reviews

review by: movie maniac date: 2008-11-18 rating:
2 out of 3 ain't bad
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.

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review by: date: 2008-11-13 rating:
Kingdom come
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...

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review by: date: 2008-11-10 rating:
Stupid stupid stupid
Standard Hollywood drivel. Deeply propagandistic from a right-wing-US point of view, base, crass, full of prejudices and stereotypes, is morally repugnant to anyone with a conscience. Avoid!

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review by: TrueEnglish date: 2008-09-10 rating:
Realism
"Then in a daring chase, the FBI agents walk into two terrorist hideouts, killing hundreds of terrorists like so many levels of the computer game Medal Of Honour".
The truth is that American and British forces are trained to an extremely high level and shoulder their weapons and take aim before firing. Strangely it is far more accurate than the un-trained pull the trigger and pray and spray technique.
Quite a good action film that could not make its mind up about what it wanted to be. Still surprised it was a major release. Almost a recruiting film for the BNP / anti islam league


review by: Alexandria's Library date: 2008-08-12 rating:
out of the ordinary
This is a really strong action movie that addresses terrorism from another angle and I really found this a pleasant surprise. I am not sure the final scene is something that could really happen, and maybe you can argue that the FBI has too much of a "hero saving the day" role, but it did hold me stuck in front of the screen. This is fiction, and it does deliver a very good time.

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Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Crime, Thrillers & Mystery . All Crime, Thrillers & Mystery
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Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 2000 and later
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