The Kingdom (2007)

Posted : 1 year, 2 months ago at Aug 31 15:44

''Which side do you think Allah's on?'' ''We are about to find out! '' A team of U.S. government agents is sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East. Jamie Foxx: Ronald Fleury Despite the fact of being nearly two hours in duration, The Kingdom speeds ahead with its tale, not halting for in depth character development or concentrating on the main situations ensuing. This is it's coin like duality quality of being stuck between it's purpose. On one hand, Kingdom keeps an excellent pace. Begins quite suddenly with a informative history lesson, telling us what the middle east Kingdom is, which I liked I admit, then with a cataclysmic explosion, the unprovoked, unexpected attack on the American residential compound results in being brutal and ...Read more

Rating : 7/10

Posted : 1 year, 2 months ago at Aug 27 19:02

The Kingdom represents one of the most disappointing films I've seen all year. Even harking back to the time I saw the trailers at the cinema I was always cautious. With the current political climate regarding the middle east you can kind of guess the copy-and-paste elements that will fill any storyline a writer could ever possibly dream up regarding the situation. There will be a formidable and zealous enemy, unafraid of death. There will be American's who can fix the problems of a middle eastern country in record time. There will be some effort to highlight the similarities between both cultures afterwards. I'd hoped after seeing Michael Mann's name attached that this film wouldn't be as trite as to plough down this path, but I was let down. It gets of to an exhilarating start, with a...Read more

Rating : 5/10

Posted : 1 year, 3 months ago at Jul 30 1:12

"I know you want him caught. We want him caught. So let us help you. America's not perfect, not at all, I'll be the first to say that, but we are good at this. Allow us to help your men go catch this criminal." 2007 was ostensibly a crucial year for politically-charged movies. In addition to The Kingdom, audiences also witnessed such releases as Lions for Lambs, Rendition and In the Valley of Elah. It appears like a moderately insensitive move to generate box office profits from movies that address politics and tragedies in the form of popcorn cinema. In 2006, Paul Greengrass' United 93 was an example of a film that was made to tell a very powerful, uncompromising story without caring about the box office. 2007's Lions for Lambs was produced to broaden awareness of the political situati...Read more

Posted : 1 year, 11 months ago at Dec 14 4:34

The Kingdom presents a very real view on cultural differences and highlights how people are fundamentally alike than they are different. The performances are all top notch but my favorite was the actor who played the character of Colonel Faris Al Ghazi, the FBI team's guide and guard during their time in Saudi Arabia. His sense of fairplay and justice really rang true and I like how his friendship with Jamie Foxx's character develops from misunderstanding to mutual respect. The major let down of The Kingdom is the pacing. Things get off to an unsettling, emotional and thrilling start but gets bogged down by delving too much into the political background of Saudi/US relations as well as posturing by various big wigs. But still once the investigation gets underway, The Kingdom is choc...Read more

Rating : 6/10