The Kingdom

I think my main issue with The Kingdom, is that director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Rundown) can’t decide what type of film he wants to make. For the most part, this film is a procedural drama, then it becomes a big-budget action flick, and there is some sprinkling of a morality play thrown in for good measure. For me, The Kingdom seemed a lot like CSI: Saudi Arabia. A bomb goes off, a crew is sent in to find evidence, they are kept at a distance and slowly figure out what happened. The only things missing are the high tech labs and music from The Who. Of course, Berg want to go a little more political with his film. I think A.O. Scott of The New York Times said it best by calling the movie “Syriana for Dummies”. While there are some moments of political interference, there is not enough to make much of a difference to the story. That brings it to the popcorn action flick, a brave endeavor considering the location of the movie and that pesky war that’s going on. The ads that mention that the last half-hour will keep you immovable are not far off the mark. The big action sequence is done pretty well its shaky cameras, flying bullets and race against the clock. Unfortunately, this is followed by some ‘deep’ closing thoughts.

Three times throughout The Kingdom, Peter Berg focuses on fathers and the love they have for their children. Who would have thought that Americans love their sons just as much as Saudis love theirs? Why can’t we all just get along? As sappy as those images were, I was more annoyed with the crappy music being played underneath. I love the work of composer Danny Elfman. He is often connected with Tim Burton’s masterpieces and has definitely branched out (including The Simpsons theme) and even in The Kingdom, some of his music is captivating. This is why it is so sad to hear such lame music being played under these parallel images. I would have rather had a love ballad ripped off one of the more emotional moments of Grey’s Anatomy.

The acting in The Kingdom is adequate. Jamie Foxx does some fine work showing both charisma and concern but is not given meaty lines to work with. Chris Cooper almost seems wasted in a film like this even with his amount of screen time. Jeremy Piven is just channeling his Entourage Ari Gold persona, so it’s been there, done that for him. I found Jennifer Garner’s acting fine but her character was poorly written. You would think that an FBI agent would know a little bit about Middle East culture (not mention being able to speak the language) so as not to wear such tight, revealing tank-tops in public. I also found her lollipop sucking annoying, even though it serves an easily telegraphed purpose. The only standout for me in this film was Jason Bateman. Granted, I didn’t know why he came along in the first place. I guess the rest of the team didn’t know how to find things on the internet. Anyway, Bateman gets some fun lines but also get to play some intense moments in The Kingdom. Ever since Arrested Development, Jason Bateman can do no wrong, he has sure come a long way from Silver Spoons and The Hogan Family. I guess I should also mention the great work from Ashraf Barhom who plays the officer/tour guide for the group. I’ll admit his acting and role were quite compelling.

In short, this film was just okay in my books. I think The Kingdom could definitely wait for rental. While the last half-hour is nicely suspenseful, it doesn’t need a large screen to get the impact. The bullets flying will sound just as good from your own surround sound system. Which brings me to the question of why the Saudis aren’t more accurate shots in this film. Aren’t they trained at a young age? You’d think they were better at sharp-shooting than flailing their guns in all directions. It’s a mystery. Call Grissom.