The Kingdom

After a brief history lesson into the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US, “The Kingdom” drives straight into a daylight attack on a softball game at a US housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With some hardball tactics by Special Agent Fleury (Foxx), and his forensic team played by Gardner, Bateman and Cooper are allowed to travel to Riyadh to help with the investigation. Tensions flare between the FBI team and Saudi police led by Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Barhom) almost immediately, but it is an instinctive common goal (not one you might think) between the two that ultimately unite them. The investigation is stalled at times due to Saudi bureaucracy but the overall force of the two sides to catch the man responsible prevails. The entire movie moves toward a final action packed and brutal shoot out between the FBI, Saudi Police and terrorists cell responsible for the attacks on the US compound.
I absolutely loved this movie. The combination of raw action and raw emotion resonate throughout the movie. Most people strike it down because of its inability to pick a side, either an action film or a political thriller. This is the main reason why I liked it. It blendes two sides of a story that not many films have done with success.
Panoramic night shots (taken straight out of a Michael Mann film) mixed with the character’s lives beyond the investigation and a great score make for stunning visuals that not only calm our senses but also transition the film with ease.
Politically, The Kingdom succeeds to bringing light to the clashes that Americans have with the Middle East. From the ignorant perceptions about religion and culture to the intergovernmental and bureaucratic bullshit that plagues the team for half of the film.
Bateman and Cooper are excellent and Foxx, who at times is badass, is never brutal. His relationship with Faris is genuine. Gardner is my opinion the only weak link in the film. This film succeeds on so many levels. In a year where more crap has been produced than I can ever remember, The Kingdom is a film that in my opinion not many will surpass.

A-