‘The Kingdom’ Review
“‘THE KINGDOM’ IS A TICKING TIME BOMB THAT WILL LEAVE YOU ABSOLUTELY SHAKEN!”
A+
Following the commercial failure of ‘Miami Vice,’ director Michael Mann decided to drop to chair number two as the producer for Peter Berg’s ‘The Kingdom.’ Even if Mann isn’t calling the shots, he is still making a big contribution by placing his favorite lead, Jamie Foxx, at the head of the cast as they move past ‘Miami’ to go on a mission to Saudi Arabia in search of a violent terrorist. Berg may be taking a huge step away from the ‘Friday Night Lights’ spectacle, but with two experienced veterans lending their assistance, Berg still scores an ultimate touchdown with ‘The Kingdom.’ However, this is a touchdown that Berg won’t score by running WITH a ball; it is one he will score by running FROM bullets, and shedding a lot of blood in the process.
When a lethal terrorist organization detonates a bomb in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing over a hundred American civilians, an elite team of FBI agents, led by Special Agent Roland Fleury (Jamie Foxx) is sent in on a five-day mission to capture the terrorist cell. As they struggle to survive the heated atmosphere, along with the depressing layout of the civilization, the agents eventually learn that they have been targeted for attack, and soon begin to realize that their supposed allies and informants aren’t so reliable; and this is a mission they will have to carry out themselves……… a task which they can attempt to complete with peaceful negotiation, but sooner or later……… the time for talking will be over.
Anyone who goes into a war film expects nothing short of absolute entertainment, and ‘The Kingdom’ fulfilled that stipulation within just fifteen minutes (but it certainly didn’t stop there…… no, no!). Director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) is making his directorial debut in the war department here, but with Michael Mann (Collateral, Miami Vice) by his side as the producer, and an 80 million dollar budget to work with, this film manages to evenly balance its action and drama at a really fast-paced, but violently thrilling rate.
Similar to Ridley Scott’s Somali atmosphere in ‘Black Hawk Down,’ Berg sets up a decently realistic image of another foreign country that runs on adrenaline with bombs and bullets as the answer to all of its problems, but Berg also accentuates the physical wear-out suffered by the American agents as they desperately try to adjust to the excruciating atmosphere; an adjustment they will have to make quickly for when the bullets start flying.
Usually, I can’t speak much on war film performances, but ‘The Kingdom’ really draws a (bloody) line in the sand with all of its actors, as they show that in order to work in a war film, you don’t have to just run around and hold down a trigger while explosions go off. Jamie Foxx (Miami Vice) may be a veteran with such activity, but when you add in a vengeance driven attitude to a man holding a loaded gun, you’ve got one heck of a performer who is absolutely ready to shoot some people (“we’re going to find him, and we’re going to make him pay!”). Michael Mann obviously knows how to get Foxx ready (they’ve worked together many times before), and once again, he brings out nothing short of the best in him here.
I never would have envisioned Jennifer Garner performing in a film of this magnitude, but she really proved herself to be a total package of an actress here, as she portrays forensics specialist Janet Mayes. Her sympathetic emotions towards the Arabian civilians, backed by her obvious training with a gun really helped her fit right in with the rest of this cast. Say goodbye to the sigh tossing ‘Elektra’ people; this girl has grown up, and she’s ready to fire some bullets; and also throw a few hard punches in a classic fight scene that will stun you with an intensity very similar to that of Jason Bourne’s book weaponry, only this one has a bit more of a brutal result. With an intelligence analyst (Jason Bateman) and a demolitions expert (Chris Cooper) backing them up, this team of agents may be severely outnumbered, but they are as ready as they’ll ever be for the bloody showdown that caps off this spectacle.
It didn’t bother me one bit, but I will still warn you, the camera work for ‘The Kingdom’ was a bit shaky. In the midst of the chaotic shootouts and the rushing thrills, it begins to feel like you’re running with the agents and a heavy camera is sitting on your shoulder. The same effect occurred in all three Jason Bourne flicks, but like Paul Greengrass (Bourne trilogy director), Peter Berg still managed to capture the crucial points from the best angles. Even if the solid entertainment seemed a little blurry, it was still interesting to follow the action from a slightly jumpy angle because it felt more like a reality-based product rather than simple Hollywood magic.
The release of ‘The Kingdom’ was originally scheduled for April of 2007, but when it received such positive reactions from Universal Studios, Berg and Mann were advised to move it back to the fall so that it could possibly garner some Academy Award recognition. I enjoyed ‘The Kingdom’ just as much as I hoped to, but the story line got a bit jumbled at certain points. To compensate for the confusion, I did some research and found out that the original cut was really 150 minutes, but had to be cut to 110 due to the brutality of the violence. Even if the confusion nags your mind, it really won’t matter in the end because the overall plot still carried itself to an entertaining finish that seemed to come much sooner than it actually did.
It’s hard to say, at this point, whether or not ‘The Kingdom’ is guaranteed to reach Academy status, but the explosive sound effects and visuals, mixed with notable performances, definitely made this one of the most entertaining films of the year. It’s like a ticking time bomb that just absolutely explodes with brutal intensity in the concluding half hour………and believe me, this is not a half hour you enjoy……… it is one you ENDURE!
I’m not too familiar with the truth and inspiration of the events behind ‘The Kingdom,’ but I do know that it combined two separate explosion incidents into one plot. It may not quite be close to what really happened, but with all the confusion amidst foreign current affairs, does anyone really know the truth anymore?
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 12 2007. Filed under Features.
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