The Kingdom - Film Review

In a year where the US is pulling out of Afghanistan and the concept of terror is more associated with viruses than suicide bombers, it's interesting to look back on a film that so perfectly captures the post-9/11 2000s of American cinema. I remember a lot of movies like this one coming out back then. The Green Zone, The Hurt Locker, Body of Lies, and Rendition all had a similar gritty tone and style that tackled the War on Terror, but this one particularly appealed to me due to its cast and crew.

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Where You Can Find It: I viewed this one on Amazon Video where it is available for rent/purchase.

General Information 
The Kingdom is an action thriller film that was released on 28 September 2007. It was directed by Peter Berg and produced by Michael Mann and Scott Stuber with Universal Pictures distributing. Music for the film was done by four-time Academy Award nominee, Danny Elfman. With a budget of approximately $70 million, the film pulled in approximately $87 million during its theatrical run. Critically, it has a 56 Metascore on Metacritic and a similar 51% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Story

An American housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is devastated by a series of brutal terrorist attacks that leaves hundreds dead and poses a major threat to ongoing Saudi-American relations. Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) and a small team of other FBI agents get dispatched to investigate the attack as observers, but their case won't be easy to solve. Fleury will have to contend with an extremely reluctant American bureaucracy, as well as the incredibly foreign Saudi government who assign Saudi State Police Force Colonel, Faris al-Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom) as Fleury's liaison. Diplomatic relations will be difficult, but Fleury and al-Ghazi will have to work together to stop the terrorists behind the compound attack before they strike again.

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Fleury and his team will have to learn to work with their Saudi counterparts if they want to prevent another terrorist attack

Right off the bat, one of the things I love most about this film is that it manages to tell a very personal story in a world about international relations and counter-terrorism. Although the story takes place from the perspective of the Americans, we get to see both cultures connect and interact with each other. The best scene of the film is arguably when we simply seek how all of the characters spend their free time after a long day of work. Fleury calls his son and talks about catching bad guys while his team play Islamic trivia, and al-Ghazi and Sergeant Haytham (Ali Suliman) go to their respective homes to be with their families and pray. It's an incredibly deep moment that speaks to Berg's intention to show that we're all human, regardless of what we worship or where we come from. For the most part, this message is executed well through most of the story, however it does suffer at the tail-end when the overly long action sequence reduces many characters to tropes and stereotypes.

Although Fleury is undeniably the main protagonist of the film, al-Ghazi is probably the true hero as the stakes are just as personal for him as they are for Fleury's team, while al-Ghazi has far more to manage and higher stakes throughout the story. Just as the viewer gets to see Fleury's team struggle with Saudi customs and norms, so too do we see al-Ghazi exasperatedly put up with the agents' behaviors and pushiness. It's awesome to see how well-rounded al-Ghazi is as a character when he's really examined, and it's kind of a shame that the majority of the American characters just aren't as deep.

Similarly to Berg's approach to differing cultures is the attention to detail on the first two acts that really makes the main plot shine. There's an incredible amount of care given to examine how the team investigates the terrorist attack on the American compound and this detective-work gives the Saudis and Americans plenty of chances to interact as well as for the story's world to open up. Without going into deep spoilers, this excellent set-up doesn't quite stick the landing as all the careful details go out the window to make room for a lengthy shootout that's not nearly as interesting as the first half of the film.

Special Effects/Atmosphere

One of the things that will always make this film incredibly memorable to me is the beautiful score by Danny Elfman at both the midway and closing marks. Elfman's background scores invokes an emotional response in nearly every scene that they're featured in and I commend Berg for his inclusion of Elfman's work in this film.

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Danny Elfman's "Finale" is arguably the most memorable aspect of this film

Just as the music is great, so too is the excellently well-presented version of Saudi Arabia. I've never been to this part of the world, however Berg provides a boots-on-the-ground view that feels realistic. Costumes and weaponry both look and sound genuine, while the surrounding environments always carry a hint of paranoia-inducing danger that leaves the viewer contemplating if something bad is about to happen.

It's certainly not lost on me that Michael Mann is involved in this film, and one can see certain "Mann-isms" that hearken to his style of film-making. None stands out more than the action set-pieces, which are incredibly gritty and tightly shot. I feel as though there was a clear attempt to copy Mann's famous bank robbery scene from Heat, however it just doesn't work as well. The combat comes off as a tad scattered, while plot armor feels fully engaged once characters start dodging rocket-fire. Heat's scene works well because of its premise, execution, and conclusion all work perfectly and carry lasting consequences. This film's closing fight scene seemingly happens in a vacuum. Considering the first two thirds of the film are about how precarious of a diplomatic position Fleury's team are in with the Saudi government, it's almost absurd how the movie shrugs off Fleury and Co. later gunning down terrorists (many of which are likely Saudi citizens) without any diplomatic response. It's certainly not all that bad, as there's plenty of fun to be had out of all the shooting, but it's missing the crucial elements of what it's trying to mimic.

The Acting

The mid-2000s seems to have been a pretty good decade for Jamie Foxx's acting career and this film catches him arguably at his peak. He turns in a fairly good performance as Special Agent Fleury and comes off as believable in both the emotional scenes as well as the more action-heavy ones. His chemistry with the rest of the cast is great, and this especially shows during scenes where he's talking one-on-one with Ashraf Barhom's character.

Speaking of Barhom, I must admit that I'm not familiar with the actor outside of this, however he thoroughly impressed me throughout this film. Barhom probably does the most work in this film, which is funny since he's not even close to top billing, but he frequently holds his own when he's sharing the screen with the other big-name actors. It's frankly a shame that he never received any larger roles, however his IMDB page indicates he's still getting plenty of work and I'm glad to see that.

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Ashraf Barhom is undeniably the breakout star of this film

Looking at the movie poster for this film, one will notice a lot of big names next to Jamie Foxx's. One may also notice that I have not mentioned any of these names going through my review. Unfortunately, this has little to do with spoilers but is more of the fact that none of the other major actors stood out all that much. Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, and Chris Cooper all do serviceable jobs here, but none of them particularly stand out. Bateman is quick with the one-liners; Garner is an emotionally damaged badass; and Cooper is the blue collar bomb specialist from Virginia. Beyond those cursory labels, their characters lack much depth, which is a bit of a shame as I am fairly fond of all three of these performers.

The Best of the Best: I'm honestly torn between Danny Elfman's magnificent closing score and Ashraf Barhom's awesome performance as Colonel Farris al-Ghazi.

The Worst of the Worst: The overly long action sequence at the end.

Calhooey Score: 7/10 - Good

Would I Recommend?

The Kingdom is just on the cusp of being something truly spectacular, however it fumbles the ball at the ten-yard line. This film shines as a collision of cultures and also as an investigative thriller, however this all goes out the window by the third act when it devolves into a generic action movie. Fans of the post-9/11 war on terror films will really enjoy this and I think those that are interested in seeing a film on Saudi Arabian culture may find something special in the first half of the film. I highly recommend this as a rental to all other viewers.

Spoiler Comments

• I'd be curious how the US would actually respond if a terrorist attack of the magnitude of this film were to occur in Saudi Arabia today or even back when this was set. I'm not sure how the government would respond to that.
• Sergeant Haytham seems to be the unsung hero of this film. The man was the only one to succeed in stopping some of the initial terror attack, and also saved a bunch of Americans at the end of the film. Let's not forget that he got tortured by his own government too, despite all of that. I guess excessive sweating isn't hero material.
• Speaking of Haytham, according to IMDB trivia for this film, there was an alternate ending where Haytham kills himself by detonating a bomb vest, which also kills Sykes. The trivia note mentions that he does this because he's bitter about how he was treated by his own government. Boy, am I glad they passed on that ending as that makes no sense to me whatsoever.
• Jeremy Piven is in this film.
• I love that line by al-Ghazi where he says that he doesn't even want to ask a question to the terrorists when he catches them, and instead just wants to kill them.
• Al-Suwaidi makes West Baltimore look like the Hamptons.
  
• RIP al-Ghazi.

 References

(1) The Kingdom. (2007). The Kingdom film image. Original Film Art. Retrieved from: https://www.originalfilmart.com/products/kingdom-2007.

(2) The Kingdom. (n.d.). Fleury and his team image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431197/.

(3) KubaRocks. (2013, January 17). The Kingdom[OST] - Danny Elfman "FINALE" [video]. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfyg376Tdpg.

(4) Netflix Movies. (n.d.). Ashraf Barhom image. Retrieved from: https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-kingdom-2007.