Movie Review - The Kingdom

Movie Title:  The Kingdom
Director:  Peter Berg
Starring:  Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Michael Bateman
Rating:  R

What are you doing tonight? How about this weekend? Well I’ve got plans for you. If you have kids - get a sitter (you don’t want them to hear the language or see the gore), if you don’t have kids, then you have no excuse…go see this movie! The Kingdom is one of the timeliest movies I’ve ever seen. I’m reminded of a quote from Dr. Strangelove (another great and timely movie) “Gentlemen, I guess you just wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have some pretty strong feelings about nuclear combat.” The Kingdom begs the same for terrorism; we can’t be human and alive in the terrorist era without feelings on the subject.

The Kingdom is set in Saudi Arabia - one of the United States’ allies in the Middle East.  The director very kindly gives the viewers a brief history of our relations with the Saudis before breaking into the story. A truly ghastly terrorist plot hatches on an unsuspecting American compound in Saudi Arabia. I won’t give you the details, but I will say that you’ll be shocked without finding it hard to believe that an attack like it could easily happen.

The main characters of the film are a mixture of FBI agents trying (through many difficulties) to get to the perpetrator of the crime, and the Saudis themselves that are living in the difficult area. Both groups are played with sensitivity to the questions of: What is our role in the Middle East? How do we keep good relations with countries so vastly different from our own? Is there an answer to the hatred that comes from both sides?

There are some movies that do more than entertain - they beg us to stop to pay attention and to take a side. This movie picks a side, but more than that it takes time to inform us about our enemy and about the people in between. We can not let the terrorism stop us from knowing and respecting the people in the Middle East that just want to live, to see their children grow, and to have all the freedoms that we take for granted everyday.

Will you be entertained? That’s a definite yes. It’s a fast paced movie with lots of stuff to keep you at the edge of your seat. Quick hint, get a small drink for this one; you do not want to have to leave to use the bathroom especially during the last 30 minutes. The strongest statement of the movie is in the last 5 minutes. Don’t miss this one!

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