Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

When I was in Prague this week on the NARNIA set, many of the people on that film had worked on THE KINGDOM, including my escort for the week, Ernie Malik, the unit publicist. All of them were curious to see what we’ve been hearing about the finished film, and I told them that we’ve been bombarded with regular reviews of it for the last month or so, and that continues unabated today.

I’m hoping to get a look at this myself in the very near future so I can weigh in on it. Until then, check this one out:

Hey Harry, long time reader first time contributor. I attended a test screen of ‘The Kingdom’ last night here in Washington, DC and thought I’d send along my review.

‘The Kingdom’ is a movie that doesn’t really fall into any category. It’s too smart to be just an action movie but it’s got too much action to be a political thriller and it’s definitely not a character study. No, what ‘The Kingdom’ really is is a smart movie set between two of the most intensely powerful action scenes I’ve ever seen.

The movie starts immediately with opening credits that gives you a bare bones timeline of the love triangle between the US, Saudi Arabia and Oil. Its information that’s important to the overall story and sets you up for the first action scene by showing an animated image that made some members of the audience gasp. After that, for the next 15-20 minutes you are treated to one of the most real, intense and disturbing “action” sequences in recent memory – the attack on the residence of US workers in Saudi Arabia by religious and political fanatics. This is a scene that could literally be lifted off of the nightly news and is all the more shocking because of it.

After this first 20 minutes the movie eases into the more familiar and typical storyline as Ronald Fluery (Jamie Fox) & Co. maneuver to get into Saudi Arabia to investigate the attacks and continue the politicking once they’re there so they can actually investigate. This is the slower part of the movie and the part where people might start complaining. There’s nothing really new here and the movie might suffer from the subtle way Peter Berg and screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan handle the overall politics of a United States FBI team investigating a crime on another country’s sovereign soil. For someone who doesn’t have pervious knowledge of the very real issues this movie is dealing with some of the political message might be lost.

The acting is what gets us easily through this part. Watching as these characters deal with the huge cultural differences (Jennifer Garner’s Janet Mayes has a few problems particular to her) with subtle gestures and expressions is refreshing and extremely well done. The transition from lack of trust and begrudging association to a genuine connection is done in such a way that you truly believe this is real and possible. Jamie Foxx is in top form as is the entire cast - Chris Cooper is just a joy to watch in this movie and Jennifer Garner does a great job as the lone woman in the group in a world where women are severally subjugated and discounted. She’s strong without being masculine and that’s such a refreshing change from most movies. I would be remised if I didn’t mention just how good Jason Bateman is. Yes he’s the one with the most laugh lines but he’s also a very real character and you believe him as a serious FBI agent focused on doing his job. You also believe that he just might be able to kick some ass later on. The other standout performance belongs to Ashraf Barhom who plays Col. Al-Ghazi, the police chief assigned to protect the FBI team but who really wants to solve this crime. It’s a wonderful performance and Barhom more than holds his own opposite Jamie Foxx who he shares nearly every scene with. It’s just at the point when the connection between Al-Ghazi and Fluery is really cemented that all hell breaks loose and we are literally thrown into the final act of the movie.

This action scene is even more intense than the one that opened the movie; it’s also infinitely more bloody and personal. This is an intimate action sequence that doesn’t let you detach yourself from it. You feel the tension and the fear and the adrenaline. It’s a startling 20 minutes of film making that literally has you on the edge of your seat. And never let it me said a little knife can’t do a ton of damage. It’s something you really need to see since describing it doesn’t do it justice.

The movie ends with a sense of…foreboding is the best word I can think of. It makes it clear that the violence and hatred and lack of trust – the very things we just watched change in the individual characters – are part of a vicious circle that as of right now, has no end. I recommend this movie for nearly everyone but especially those who don’t mind thinking a little bit about what the movie is trying to show and what it means for the world we currently live in.

If you use this you can call me KatieBugs.
Cheers.