Peter Berg’s “The Kingdom,” which follows the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a softball game at a U.S. housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is dangerously close to being a flat, stereotypical mix of “24” and “CSI.”
Special agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) and his elite team of investigators ““ forensics expert Janet Gayes (Jennifer Garner), mouthy Jason Bateman as intelligence analyst Adam Leavitt, and seasoned get-down-to business explosives specialist Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper) ““ are sent to Saudi Arabia to aide in the Saudi police force’s investigation of the attack. And like the TV heroes before them, their job is to bring those responsible to justice.
Because the film takes place in a foreign country, Fleury’s team experiences a fair share of controversy in the form of cultural clashes. For example, the obnoxious U.S. diplomat (Jeremy Piven) tells Gayes to “dial down the boobies” during a publicity photo op with the Prince, and Bateman’s character is scolded by a Saudi police officer for his casual use of the “f-bomb.”
And at times, certain scenes are uncomfortably close to home, especially when terrorists kidnap one American to behead in front of cameras.
But while the characters’ experiences are provoking, Berg more or less steers clear of making controversial statements with the film.
The movie progresses without lapsing into an over-sympathetic take on terrorists and without patronizing Saudi or Muslim culture. Scenes that deliberately attempt to paint Saudi culture favorably might have otherwise backfired if not for Ashraf Barhom’s moving performance as Col. Faris Al Ghazi. Ghazi is a serious, self-professed patriot and an involved family man, who is much like Fleury, but has the most depth and development, even among the main characters.
The movie is well paced, though it starts off fast: The introductory credits are interlaced with a documentary-like but fast-paced CNN-style timeline of the history of the geopolitical tension between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. This is a creative, though quick substitute for the typical history-lesson title card.
The film entertains by balancing suspenseful moments of terse stillness with often humorous dialogue and by including a sneaky “Counterstrike”-like computer game cameo for adrenaline-inducing action.
The film is ultimately thought-provoking, bringing up the essential dilemma that terrorists also have families.
And though the movie has a jarring conclusion, it is perhaps most appropriate in expressing the point of the movie: The CNN timeline goes on, and the war never quite ends.
E-mail Lum at jlum@media.ucla.edu.