Tragic 'Kingdom'
Few films possess the power to manipulate nationalistic American emotions the way "The Kingdom" does.
This ripped-from-the-headlines drama begins with a doozy of a sensory assault. Terrorists attack an American oil company compound in Saudi Arabia, gunning down scores of women, men and children during a pleasant day at a ballgame.
Then, a bomb detonates, blowing a crater into the earth and conjuring up images of destruction and chaos from our own national nightmare at Oklahoma City.
Once we've been primed for payback, or at least wanting some sense of justice, "The Kingdom" offers us a patriotic catharsis: an all-out, no-weapons-barred, brutal smackdown between an anonymous, ruthless Jihadist and Jennifer Garner's beautiful FBI agent.
In one of the most intense, nail-biter fight scenes in recent memory (only Viggo Mortensen's bathhouse knife fight in "Eastern Promises" surpasses it), Garner and the terrorist go at it in a mano-a-womano death match that culminates in a bloody coup de grace guaranteed to elicit stand-up cheering.
This sequence begs the question: Should we feel guilty that we cheered for the barbarity of Garner's actions? Or guilty that we can so easily be manipulated by a movie?
As a thoughtful political drama, "The Kingdom" barely rates above a jingoistic, go-team adventure slickly produced by Michael Mann. As a straightforward, pro-American action thriller, "The Kingdom" fills the bill.
The moment that news of the compound attack reaches America, an elite team of stock FBI agents mobilizes to kick some terrorist tail.
Jamie Foxx leads the group as Ronald Fleury, devoted dad to a little boy and symbolic father of his squad. Reliable character actor Chris Cooper plays Sykes, the blunt veteran explosives expert. "Alias" star Garner plays Mayes, the attractive agent who doesn't need a man to save her. Jason Bateman provides subdued comic relief as an intelligence analyst.
The agents have a humdinger of a time getting permission to enter Saudi Arabia. The royal family doesn't want its people to think that Americans can come and do whatever they please.
Eventually, the FBI gets a green light, but only if it investigates the massacre under the strict control of Col. Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), a nervous bureaucrat who tries to contain the agents' investigation.
The agents easily work around Al Ghazi, who becomes little more than a lovable Saudi Arabian mascot for the persevering Americans. (And we all know what happens to lovable mascots in war movies, don't we?)
"The Kingdom" has been directed by actor Peter Berg, who dredges out his now-tired documentary-style camera shots he put to much better use in "Friday Night Lights." Here, he seems less interested in exploring his characters than executing showy action sequences.
Some of the car stunts are boffo. But Berg treats his FBI agents like a James Bond quartet, able to blast a zillion faceless terrorists while never being hit by a single bullet.
If only this happened to all American fighters overseas.
"The Kingdom"
2 1/2 stars out of four
Opens today
Starring As
Jamie Foxx Ronald Fleury
Chris Cooper Grant Sykes
Jennifer Garner Janet Mayes
Jason Bateman Adam Leavitt
Ashraf Barhom Faris Al Ghazi
Written by Mathew Michael Carnahan. Produced by Michael Mann and Scott Stuber. Directed by Peter Berg. A Universal Pictures release. Rated R (violence). Running time: 110 minutes.