Good action movie, but there wasn't much else.

From writer/director Peter Berg comes the political thriller The Kingdom. When there’s a major terrorist bombing at an American compound in Saudi Arabia the FBI sends in a team to investigate, but the politics of the situation threatens to erupt in more violence. Starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman, the film has a strong cast that delivers some good performances. And, Berg’s directing does an extraordinary job at bringing tension and excitement to the scenes. The script is also well-crafted; presenting some provocative questions about terrorism, the cycle of violence, and cultural relativism. While the politics may get a little heavy at times, The Kingdom is a smart and action-packed film.

The investigation part of the attack, the culture clash, is fine, the final part is very intense. I like the parallelism of the beginning and the end

This movie really disturbed me. The feeling of being part of the terror that I experienced watching this movie left me with a heavy heart. There are really people out there who believe in this cause. Frankly, it scares me to death. That part was done well. However, this does not make it a great movie. The story was a little thin and Jeremy Piven's character bothered me immensely. That last 20-25 minutes turned in to some Arnold in the Middle East movie with the 4 good guys having the monster shootout against the dozens of bad guys. I did love the ending with the juxtaposition of Fleury and Abu Hamza's grandson both saying, "we're going to kill them all".

Another awesome action thriller from Peter Berg. The politics are interesting, the action is intense and the message and ending are honest, tough statements.

The kingdom

Purporting to offer insight into the culture of Saudi Arabia, this doesn’t scratch the surface of US/Saudi relations and the problematic issues which existed long before 9/11, but given the film was made in the immediate aftermath, it is no different than many films of this ilk that focused on terrorism and the US response and fallout from this. The plot revolves around an investigation into a bombing at a US compound in Saudi and the saving grace of the film is the developing relationship between Foxx’s FBI agent and Barhom's Saudi officer, which holds the story together throughout, albeit through the prism of the US teaching everyone how it is done. The final third is a competently staged action sequence, and whilst the underlying message is a reminder that violence and revenge will only breed more, it is hard to escape the feeling that the film could have offered much more insight and critique than what is offered.