The Kingdom
Wednesday, 03 Oct 2007 14:34
Jamie Foxx stars in The Kingdom
Directed by Peter Berg, out in cinemas October 5th 2007, starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, running time 110 minutes.
In a nutshell…
Political, action-packed, predictable, confused, jingoistic.
What's it all about?
Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner head up a crack FBI team of forensic specialists travelling to a US enclave of Saudi Arabia against the wishes of politicians to investigate a shocking terrorist incident against American oil workers.
Cue the inevitable array of difficult, confused, sweaty and moustachioed locals who have no clue how a forensic investigation should take place, the political arguments back home in the good 'ol US of A, the creepy bomb-making extremists and the transformation of Jamie Foxx from desk jockey to gun-toting commando as the team discover terrorist plots and takes action to bring those responsible to tough justice.
Although the political intrigue dominates the first half of the film, action fans will be delighted with the raw, pumping gun battles that characterise the latter stages when democracy and freedom take on tyranny and oppression with unsurprisingly unsubtle results.
Who's in it?
Jamie Foxx leads the way as team leader Ronald Fleury, a patriot and father back home who can't bear to obey orders when American lives are lost and sneaks off to get "US boots on Saudi soil".
Although Foxx's performance is much the same as any other film in which he's featured, he's ably supported by Saudi good guys Ashraf Barhom and Ali Suliman, who add a little weight and integrity to a film that could otherwise have been viewed purely as an assassination of the character of non-US militants.
Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman make up the US team, dutifully playing their parts as tough chick, sage old timer and crude wise-cracking youngster respectively in a competent enough manner, without ever having the chance to show if they can really act.
As an example…
"America isn't perfect, not by a long shot, but damn it we're good at this... " - Foxx to a Saudi prince:
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
Although The Kingdom tries its hardest to forge a balancing act of kill-crazy rampaging and hardcore action scenes with political sensitivity on a subject that is still tender in the hearts of many viewers, it falls some way short of achieving its goal.
Unlike award hopefuls such as Crash (not the Cronenberg one... ) its scene and character painting lacks subtlety and daubs just a little too much Red, White and Blue outside the lines.
What the others say
"There are important messages in The Kingdom about the Middle East and how a lust for revenge on both sides of the War on Terror can be a corrosive thing - but they're difficult to hear behind the workings of a fairly predictable and unsurprising Hollywood action movie." - Channel 4 Film.
So is it any good?
Although the film sets itself up as having real grit and aiming to get a message across, what intends to be a 110-minute crescendo actually evolves into an inexorable slide. The opening credits and first 20 minutes set viewers up with the notion that it could be something truly ground-breaking, but unfortunately this is let down by the events thereafter.
While the final set-piece of the movie is an action sequence that will delight fans of the genre thanks to the high prevalence of grenades that make a loud explosive racket and high-powered weaponry that never seems to run out of ammo, the more discerning viewer may be left a little cold. It strikes one as slightly odd that four forensic scientists should be able to almost single-handedly wipe out a well-trained and better-armed 50-odd-strong force of hardline terrorists, but this is explained by the (borderline blasphemous) suggestion that Allah could actually be on the US' side.
If it were an action film, an enjoyable one it would no doubt be, but as it has pretensions to a throne of grandeur and depth far above this level, it misses its target, offering a confused message not helped by the bullet-proof Foxx and plethora of Saudis who evidently can't shoot straight. If you want to see the tricky subjects of terrorism and religious hatred dealt with in a mature and perceptive fashion, look elsewhere.
6/10
Wesley Charnock
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