The Kingdom
I went to see The Kingdom today with my folks. It was a good movie. It was much less of an action movie than I expected. I sort of expected non-stop chase scenes like the Bourne movies because that what was shown in the ads and previews. There was a good bit of drama and political maneuvering with the long chase/action scene only kicking in at the end of the movie. There was even a bit of a history lesson during the opening credits to explain to the American movie audience about the history of American involvement in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was more thoughtful movie than I expected and the last scene made a troubling political statement.
Early in the movie the Jamie Foxx character whispered something in Jennifer Garner's character's ear to comfort her when she found out a fellow FBI agent had been killed by a terrorist bomb. At the end of the movie, Jamie Foxx revealed that he had promised her that they'd get them/kill them all. At that same time a Saudi mother was asking her child what her dead terrorist grandfather had whispered in the child's ear with his dying breath. It was the same thing. And endless circle of violence.
I think that at least Jamie Foxx and his 3 agents learned that not all Arabs were bad when they were helped through the investigation by a Saudi Police Officer who was also a good honest man.
The movie did a more balanced job of portraying the good and bad guy Saudis than I expected. I am not an expert, but I expected to spot obvious cultural and political errors. This movie surprised me by being more accurate and intelligent than I expected it to be.
Early in the movie the Jamie Foxx character whispered something in Jennifer Garner's character's ear to comfort her when she found out a fellow FBI agent had been killed by a terrorist bomb. At the end of the movie, Jamie Foxx revealed that he had promised her that they'd get them/kill them all. At that same time a Saudi mother was asking her child what her dead terrorist grandfather had whispered in the child's ear with his dying breath. It was the same thing. And endless circle of violence.
I think that at least Jamie Foxx and his 3 agents learned that not all Arabs were bad when they were helped through the investigation by a Saudi Police Officer who was also a good honest man.
The movie did a more balanced job of portraying the good and bad guy Saudis than I expected. I am not an expert, but I expected to spot obvious cultural and political errors. This movie surprised me by being more accurate and intelligent than I expected it to be.