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Kingdom, The
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MPAA RATING: R for intense sequences of graphic brutal violence, and for language
Starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Chris Cooper, Jeremy Piven, Brooke Langton, and Frances Fisher
When a terrorist bomb detonates inside a Western housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an international incident is ignited. While diplomats slowly debate equations of territorialism, FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury quickly assembles an elite team and negotiates a secret five-day trip into Saudi Arabia to locate the madman behind the bombing. However, upon landing in the desert kingdom, Fleury and his team discover that Saudi authorities are suspicious and unwelcoming of American interlopers in what they consider a local matter. Hamstrung by protocol--and with the clock ticking on their five days--the FBI agents find their expertise worthless without the trust of their Saudi counterparts, who want to locate the terrorists in their homeland on their own terms. (Universal Studio)
| GENRE(S): | Drama | Suspense/Thriller |
| WRITTEN BY: | Matthew Michael Carnahan |
| DIRECTED BY: | Peter Berg |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: December 26, 2007 Theatrical: September 28, 2007 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 110 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 5.4 (out of 10) based on 64 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Nick W. gave it a4:
This movie was OK at best but the problem I had was it felt like an American propaganda film, especially with the "Kill them all" remark at the end. Just my two cents.
Brandon W gave it a6:
It was a good action flick. The reviews i read that say "0" are prejudiced at best. It's an action flick; it's not a deep, artistic film. Every film can't be. I'm a big fan of deep, intelligent movies, but sometimes i want to see a good action flick. Those of you complaining because it didn't lean properly to your overly self-conscious anti-American views need to get some perspective. I'm a Middle Eastern analyst and a friend of many Arabs. This film addressed the issue of terrorism fairly well, although somewhat simplistically. Yes, there's the revenge angle that's underlying in the film. I felt, however, that the positive work between the Faris and Fluery was more apparent, as it should have been. Americans need to see that there are a lot of positive people in the Middle East just as there are in America. Not every American is arrogant and self-centered, and not all Saudis (or Arabs in general) are terrorists or anti-progression. They want 3 square meals and a hot bed just like we do. Good flick...no Oscar nominee, but a good flick.
Spider A. gave it a6:
This is a film that doesn't pace itself, first turning to plot, then action, then boredom, then ending. It has so many empty characters, so many missed chances to thrill us, to wow us. Boredom- Towards the middle of the film, the action takes a backseat to try and support the weak plot that follows. In fact, the entire plot seems to center around politics and not enough on character and action. If I wanted a movie about politics, I would've watched one. What I wanted was an action movie, and from the looks of the trailer it seemed like an action thriller. In other words, the action wasn't even action. They seemed more like scene to intensify the movie, in which it fails. There are so may flaws with this movie, it's hard to pay attention to it without losing interest in it.
Ken C gave it a7:
Wow! Did this film stir a hornets nest! First off, this is not a documentary or a true story or even an attempt to convey truths. It is simply a action military film that was fun and exciting to watch. To read anything more into it assumes that the viewing public does not know it is not real.
Eric S gave it a6:
Kingdom was ok but it felt like every Middle East set terrorist vs. America movie I've ever seen. I literally turned to my wife in the theater and said "I think I saw this in another movie before. Must be Deja vu".
Derek C. gave it a9:
Wow! I am puzzled by all the really low reviews of this movie. Generally when their is such a difference in ratings as this one has shown, there is a political point of view that feels threatened. First of all, only someone who has been heavily sedated would say this movie was not exciting. The action scenes were intense and brutal. My only issue with any of them was that everyone walked away from the unbelievable SUV crash near the end. That was a bit difficult to take, but otherwise Berg's work was fantastic as it relates to action movies. I enjoyed the characters, especially that of the Saudi officer that is responsible for babysitting the FBI agents during their investigation, as well as the culture shock as it relates to Saudi and Americans daily lives that permeates this film. I would have liked a little more character development, but that takes times in a day and age when film editing seems to be at a premium due to so many people being unable to sit longer that an hour and 45 minutes. A longer movie would have also helped the investigation become a little more complex and interesting for those CSI types. The main point here for all reading these reviews is that this movie was not meant to make political point in either direction. So many of the reviews seem dead set that this was some attempt to glorify war in the middle east as some sort of a right wing propaganda stunt. This movie simply depicted the very real possibility of a terrorist attack against Americans on foreign soil, and how we as a country and individuals might desire for it to be resolved or at least dealt with in some measure. The human element of anger demonstrated by the FBI agents who lost a friend, and many American families that lost loved ones seems to have struck a nerve. Why? Whether we like it or not, this is a very real scenario. Forget being wrapped up in whose fault it may be that these types of incidents occur. This movies simply takes off after the incident and gives us a view into the very difficult situation, one alternative to responding, and how those involved might actually be effected. If we can leave it that, then maybe we could judge this movie appropriately.
James E gave it a1:
Upsetting in every way. There are no films showing USA, UK (You get my point) Terrorizing innocent Iraqis, or killing suspected terrorists in Afghanistan. Hollywood is at its worst in History and i can not bear another one of these films.
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