So, watched "The Kingdom" this afternoon. I needed a break from my Wharton essays and application madness that has gripped me this past week or so. Nothing like a generic Hollywood mindless action movie for a break from the intensive essay writing action yeah?
Ok, now about the movie.
Plot: A team of 4 FBI specialists force their way through diplomatic opposition into Saudi Arabia to investigate the bombing of the American compound that kills more than 100 American citizens. The movie shows what they go through and how they go approach the situation.
Good things:
-Dont be mistaken that this is a cliched movie from the American point of movie. The plot may appear like that when you read it but there are definite subtleties (spelling?) in the movie. Granted there are some cliches but overall the movie was good. I am going to go ahead and actually say it was very good. A Saudi angle is presented as well (a la Syriana) and it probably saves the movie from being average.
-Jammie Fox is very good. Chris Cooper is also very good. I think Chris Cooper is severely under-rated by the way. Jennifer Garner is used very well in her role. As is Jeremy Piven. Although it would be tough to see Piven as a State Department Official. He brings the Artie attitude from Entourage to this role which I am not sure is believable but definitely entertaining.
-The fight scene with Jennifer Garner is cool. Overall the action scenes were great I thought.
-The scenes that showed the Saudi Arabian landscape were good. I am assuming they shot that in Saudi Arabia and if that was the case, man that country is wealthy. And imagine all that from the oil that you are consuming!
-Very gripping. It kept my attention for the entire duration and that is tough to do.
-No love angle. Thankfully. There is no need for a love angle in a serious movie like this. (Sara is probably disappointed!)
-The ending again is well done. There are no more riding into the sunset endings in movies anymore huh? Moral ambiguity is the norm and that's what the end tries to potray.
Not so good things:
-I am tired of American movies showing Saudi Princes to be powerless and wimps in front of ordinary FBI/CIA agents. I am not buying that please! This is done in this movie as well. Not a big fan of it.
-The way a reasonably top FBI agent convinces the Saudi Govt to land a team on their land by threatening to publicize some vital secrets in the press was typical Hollywood and not believable.
I recommend it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
'The Kingdom' was filmed in the United Arab Emirates and the American Southwest, as well as in DC. There was B-roll material from Riyadh that was spliced into the film, primarily in landscape shots that showed Kingdom Tower (the one that looks like a bottle opener) in the background.
I reviewed the film here, based on my experience at the US Embassy in Riyadh during the 2003 bombings of residential compounds there. What State, the Embassy, and the FBI differs quite a bit from the film's rendition.
Post a Comment