No Black Hawk Down, this!

 

 

Director Peter Berg’s The Kingdom tries to work on many levels - as a political statement, an action thriller and a gripping drama. Mathew Michael Carnahan (who’s also written ‘Lions for Lambs’) whips up another politically laced tight script that works but ultimately stretches itself a little too thin. A suicide bomber targets an American compound in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh and as the rescue operations are on there is a second bomb killing an FBI agent investigating the first event. As the bodies pile up, a stoic American government delays any concrete action to nab the perpetrators. Exasperated, special agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) assembles three of his FBI mates (Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman in bitsy roles not really worth their talent) and heads for a secret mission to the desert kingdom in an effort to crack the case. Restricted by the nature of their trip, the team finds help from the Saudi Colonel who’s in charge of them—Col. Faris Al-Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom puts in the most riveting performance of the movie). As they piece clues together which lead them to their goal, the team becomes the target. The movie has some excellent moments, most of them when the two lead investigators - Fleury and Al-Ghazi - share the shot. The stunning visuals, slick cinematography, and high doses of realism in the scenes make it a gripping watch despite a botched storyline, especially in the middle third of the movie.Overall, it’s definitely worth a watch if for nothing else, then at least for the brilliantly crafted opening credits montage that traces the US-Saudi equation and its evolution over the past seven decades.