The Kingdom

The Kingdom is a film about a team of FBI agents sent in to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terrorist attack. The movie is the next film from director Peter Berg. His last film, Friday Night Lights, is my bold pick for best sports movie of all time. Through his screenplay and direction he took what could have been average and made it emotionally charged and original. Berg, however, did not write The Kingdom, so it’s not as tight an artistic package. He takes an above average screenplay and breathes similar life into it as he did with (a much better screenplay) Lights. The major players, Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Batemen are all solid, perhaps as good as they could be with the material. The Kingdom is certainly not a character piece and will not provide much insight. But that is not the aim of the film. Critics have been dissing the film for being too action packed and unrealistic, faking political awareness. Unfortunately most have missed that the point is much smaller than any huge political commentary. This movie is about human beings, their perspectives and how they interact. The political storyline is at most times, merely a vessel to tell a small, yet beautiful story. The action is a highlight though. The last bit of the movie is insane and will get your heart pounding. Another common complaint is that the terrorists are reduced to incompetent targets for Americans to shoot at. I believe this to be on purpose and a method to get something across to the viewers. The Kingdom is exciting, beautifully shot, wonderfully directed, and although it has it’s shortcomings in writing and character development, it is one of the best movies of the year.