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Lately, it seems as though Middle East war/terrorism movies are just about as prevalent as bad horror remakes or slacker comedies. And, frankly, I’ve been getting just a little bit sick of them. So when I sat down to watch The Kingdom, it already had a couple of points against it—but it’s such a solid film that it didn’t take long to change my mind.
The Kingdom follows a team of FBI agents on a five-day mission in Saudi Arabia. After a Saudi terrorist group dressed as Saudi police officers attack an American compound full of oil workers during a company picnic—and later attack the relief workers, killing FBI agent Fran Manner (Kyle Chandler)—FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) pulls a few strings to allow him and his team to investigate the attacks on Saudi soil. The US government and the Saudi government both agree that it’s not a good idea to send more Americans—when the attack was clearly an attack on Americans on Saudi land—but Fleury is determined to find the people who killed his friend and colleague.
Actually, the story is a bit confusing at first. After the credits, which throw out a mind-blowing number of facts about the US and Saudi Arabia, the action starts almost immediately. After the attacks, there are all kinds of FBI meetings and secret office meetings and barroom meetings and back-of-the-limo meetings. There’s a lot of politics involved—so much, in fact, that it’ll make your head spin. But then Fleury and his team—Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman), and Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper)—leave for Saudi Arabia, and things begin to fall into place.
Despite the endless number of Middle East movies out there, The Kingdom comes at it from a different angle. It’s not just about the good guys (the US) going in to save the day. Nor is it just about the bad guys (again, the US) coming in to take control in places where they don’t belong. Instead, it’s a thoughtful—and thought-provoking—film. It shows that sometimes it’s hard to tell which ones are the good guys and which ones are the bad guys—and sometimes there’s a very fine line between the two.
The solid story is complemented by strong characters—like Fleury and Janet, who definitely add to the story. As the two struggle to deal with their friend’s death—while trying to step away from their anger and grief to do their job—they also have to adjust to their new environment. Fleury has to deal with a loss of control, while Janet has to deal with being a woman in a Muslim country. Both actors also give solid performances that only help to strengthen their characters.
At the same time, though, The Kingdom isn’t without its flaws. Not all of the characters are as strong as Janet and Fleury—and Bateman’s character, especially, seems completely out of place. He seemed to be there for little more than the occasional wisecrack—and that doesn’t make him especially likeable.
Worst of all, however, is the fact that, about halfway through the movie, director Peter Berg seems to have taken a crash-course from the Paul Greengrass School of Directing—meaning that the footage was so ridiculously shaky that it made me (and several of my fellow critics) ill. But hey—at least I made it halfway through the movie without having to close my eyes. And the powerful story actually makes up for the queasiness.
So even if you’re sick of the same old Middle East movie, don’t shy away from The Kingdom—because it’s well worth checking out. But don’t eat too much before the show, either.
