TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Brawn Overwhelms Brains in 'Kingdom'

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTY LEMIRE, The Associated Press

Published: September 28, 2007

Simultaneously a well-crafted action flick and a drama about global politics, 'The Kingdom' wants to appeal to both the lowest common denominator as well as those seeking slightly more intellectual fare.

It moderately succeeds at achieving both.
Director Peter Berg ('Friday Night Lights'), working from a script by Matthew Michael Carnahan, raises some intriguing questions about cultural misconceptions and revenge, then comes up with answers that feel a bit too pat.

He's assembled a strong cast in Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman, then has them solve a complicated terrorist attack in a matter of mere days in a country where they're not exactly wanted.

The four star as FBI agents who secretly travel to Saudi Arabia to determine who was behind a massive, deadly bombing at an American oil-company compound in Riyadh. (A couple of their colleagues were killed while responding to the blast. This time, it's personal.)

Foxx brings his trademark cool and charisma to the role of Special Agent Ronald Fleury, the team's leader who finagles last-minute access to the country by threatening to blackmail the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Garner doesn't get to do much as Special Agent Janet Mayes, the group's forensics specialist. As a woman she is treated with particular scrutiny, and in a morgue scene is brusquely informed that she's not allowed to touch the bodies of Muslim victims.

Cooper provides the most substance as the group's veteran bomb expert Grant Sykes, who stuns the local investigators with his down-home willingness to get his hands dirty - along with his face and entire body - while digging for clues at the center of the bomb's impact.

And Bateman, in a rare role that lets him show he's capable of more than comedy, co-stars as intelligence guru Adam Leavitt. Yes, he gets a few chances to crack wise and provide comic relief, but he's also the one who ends up in the most terrifying situation of all.

Our fantastic foursome runs into bureaucratic roadblocks before they even leave the country; the attorney general, played by an overly pompous Danny Huston, prohibits them from traveling to Saudi Arabia out of concern for the sensitivity of Saudi royals. Once they arrive, they find they've been assigned a babysitter in Col. Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom from 'Paradise Now,' a real standout), whose job is to make sure they're safe, which doesn't necessarily coincide with making sure they carry out a thorough investigation.

Shot in the 115-degree heat of Arizona and on location in Abu Dhabi, 'The Kingdom' has a visual intensity and intimacy reminiscent of Michael Mann (who happens to be one of the producers), with a prolonged, climactic gun battle that's especially brutal.

By having Fleury and Co. annihilate everyone in their path with a seemingly unlimited amount of firepower, perhaps 'The Kingdom' is trying to say that vengeance is blind. But it also happens to look pretty cathartic.

MOVIE REVIEW

The Kingdom **½

MOVIE BOARD RATING: R (profanity and intense sequences of graphic, brutal violence)

STARS: Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom

DIRECTOR: Peter Berg

LOCATION: For locations, see Quick Flicks, Page 7; see Page 9 for movie times.

PLOT SUMMARY: FBI agents investigate the bombing of an American compound in Saudi Arabia.

RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes

ON THE WEB: thekingdom

movie.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT