Review of The Kingdom (2007) by Darrenz. — 05 Sep 2008

Rather limp for an action film. I appreciate the effort to use cultural conflict to create drama, but I don't believe the Saudi Arabians were well portrayed as they seemed very Western in their behavior and attitudes which tended to undercut the drama.

What to say about the plot? It was almost inconsequential, really, since there wasn't much to it, and it didn't seem to drive the film forward in any meaningful way. I also question the plausibility of four FBI agents being to solve the case in five day's time, especially given the difficulties they faced and the fact that they didn't really start the investigation in earnest until the third day.

By the end, the film devolves into a standard action-movie shootout with the requisite implausible physics (i.e. characters outrunning RPGs or being only slightly injured by an explosion that is close enough to shatter the windows of the vehicle they're occupying).

In short, THE KINGDOM doesn't work particularly well on any level. It's barely even worth a rental.