When it comes to “The Kingdom”, don’t expect the action the movie trailer promises. Starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman, “The Kingdom” is great the first ten minutes and the last twenty minutes. In between I found myself almost falling asleep. I expected a great action movie and was hugely disappointed. The acting on the other hand was great. Jamie Foxx once again proves his abilities as an actor. Chris Cooper adds some humor to the overall sad storyline.
The movie begins with terrorists firing on an American baseball game inside the American housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Just as you think the terror is over a bomb detonates killing many Americans. While diplomats slowly debate equations of territorialism, FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury quickly assembles an elite team and negotiates a secret five-day trip into Saudi Arabia to locate the madman behind the bombing that killed his best friend. Upon landing in the desert kingdom, however, Fleury and his team discover Saudi authorities suspicious and unwelcoming of American interlopers, into what they consider a local matter.
Hamstrung by protocol – and with the clock ticking on their five day trip limit – the FBI agents find their expertise worthless without the trust of their Saudi counterparts, who want to locate the terrorist in their homeland on their own terms. Fleury’s crew finds a like-minded partner in Saudi Colonel Al-Ghazi, who helps them navigate royal politics and unlock the secrets of the crime scene. With these unlikely allies sharing a propulsive commitment to crack the case, the team is led to the killer’s front door. Now in a fight for their own lives, strangers united by one mission won’t stop until justice is found.
Overall a good movie, The Kingdom delivers great acting, a good storyline, but a slow delivery.