Review of The Kingdom (2007) by Sidal — 25 Sep 2007

Saw it for free in a prerelease. Normally I don't go see Middle East war/terrorism themed movies, but it was free. The crowd was pretty into it, clapping (watch for a knife thru the groin), laughing (surprisingly humorous at parts), and groaning in outrage (because you know people are going to die).

The Westerner/Middle Easterner themes are pretty cliche, but still well done and provocative. There are a few confusing points toward the end, where things start to get a little unbelievable (watch them take out a bunch of people in the inevitable huge fight scene and somehow avoid a few rocket launchers while they're at it).

The actors were good, especially the guy who plays Colonel Al-Ghazi. Jason Bateman, the guy from Arrested Devolopment, is a good comic relief guy. Although Jennifer Garner doesn't look convincing when she cries.

.. But oh, man... the shaky camera scenes gave me a headache halfway through. It won't happen to most people, but I heard a lady in front of me complaining about it, too. All in all, I would recommend it.

Nothing groundbreaking, but worth the trip.