Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

jasonam Peter Berg's penchant for telling a gripping tale set in the modern world is on full display in The Kingdom. By showing both the American and Saudi perspectives in this fictional yet familiar scenario, Berg elevates an already intense story about an FBI team on a mission to solve a terrorist attack that claimed one of their own.

alyssa-65981 It was unbelivable that this was based on a true story

blumdeluxe "The kingdom" is one of those movies that fly a bit under the radar. While providing an illustrious cast, it never really reached the popularity of other comparable films.There are several aspects why this, in my opinion, is a mistake. First of all, it is a more than solid action movie. It is nicely made, holds the suspense high, while trying to add some politics and philosophy. Most of the actors play superb, including an astonishing performance given by Jamie Foxx. Secondly it avoids painting black and white, although at some points it is not far away.As usual, there are also some things I disliked. One is that again we have kind of an American team of superheroes, that just magically seems to survive and win every battle against dozens of villains in battle sequences that were a bit too long for my taste. The other is the character of the American ambassador, that just seemed a bit more like out of a comedy, a sector that is in general not a big strength of this movie, whenever it tries to be funny it gets questionable.What convinced me at the end was indeed the message. Killing people, no matter how inevitable it may seem, always produces hate. You can't eliminate terrorists without setting root to the next generation of war because you eliminate relatives, neighbors, friends, at the same time. I don't have a solution for this. But it makes you think. And that's always good for a movie.

eurograd Don't be fooled by The Kingdom's trailer or teaser: the promise of a Syriana-like political thriller with deep characters and complex plots is not fulfilled despite the interesting first third of the movie.The movie starts with an interesting premise and savors the viewer with what could have been done with the story play. It puts some interest context and then throw in characters that the viewer might even start to like. However, it is not long before the story goes downhill and all complexity and elaborate plots are replaced by your run-of-the-mill shootout movie full of stock characters: the old-school know-it-all guy, the trigger-happy stud, the enlightened member of enemy camp who has 'seen the light' and wants to do the right thing, the overachiever female that needs to work extra hard to prove her worth and so on.It still has very good photography and, for those who like, wobbling hand-held camera shots. Just lower your expectations before watching it.