After a terrorist attack to an American housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where families and the spy Francis Manner are murdered, FBI agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) blackmails the South Arabian consul to get five days of investigation in the location. He travels with agent Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner) and Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman) to revenge their friend and try to find the responsible for the bombing. The agents find all sorts of difficulties in their investigation, but they are supported by Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom) that advises the team how to act in a hostile environment.
After the promising beginning of "The Kingdom" and with the names of Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner in the cast, I was expecting a great movie. Unfortunately the weak and imbecile screenplay discloses only a noisy collection of stereotypes and prejudice through an absurd story. If the FBI was not allowed to investigate the crime scene, "uncle Fran" was certainly a spy not respecting the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia. Further, how can an elite team be composed by agents seeking revenge, not familiarized with the culture of Saudi Arabia, not speaking their language and bringing a woman in their mission? Last but not the least, the excessive shootout and the awful camera are irritating in a certain moment. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "O Reino" ("The Kingdom")
After the promising beginning of "The Kingdom" and with the names of Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner in the cast, I was expecting a great movie. Unfortunately the weak and imbecile screenplay discloses only a noisy collection of stereotypes and prejudice through an absurd story. If the FBI was not allowed to investigate the crime scene, "uncle Fran" was certainly a spy not respecting the sovereignty of Saudi Arabia. Further, how can an elite team be composed by agents seeking revenge, not familiarized with the culture of Saudi Arabia, not speaking their language and bringing a woman in their mission? Last but not the least, the excessive shootout and the awful camera are irritating in a certain moment. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "O Reino" ("The Kingdom")