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DVD
REVIEW: THE KINGDOM

12/21/07

FILM REVIEW: Believe the hype! Believe what you’ve
read. Believe what you’ve heard. Every now and then in movie
land a diamond in the rough is found. It’s that unknown,
unexpected big hit that rocks movie goers. This is one of
them. Even though it is not an existing, popular franchise
or a sequel like the many big ones that have come out this
year, this movie is just as good if not better than any of
them. I was not expecting this at all and I was pleasantly
surprised. This film blends intense action with true-to-life
events and circumstances. It is the most realistic action
thriller that I can recall.
Terrorism, the war on terror, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bin
Laden are words and phrases that have become as common in
the average American household as Coke, McDonald’s, and
Sponge Bob. This film takes you on an in-your-face tour of a
terrorist attack on a U.S. facility populated by Americans
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and its subsequent investigation.
After so many are killed in this heartless attack, an elite
FBI team is assembled. Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx), Grant
Sykes (Chris Cooper), Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and
Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman) are the members of this team
and they go do what they do best; find answers. Their
assignment, however, is far from easy. Starting with the
politics right here at home to the politics in the Kingdom,
it’s hard to imagine any more obstacles. Even when having to
deal with the culture shock, the hatred towards Americans,
and the religious fanaticism, they persevere. To make
matters worse, the terrorists responsible for the attack are
now targeting them turning this investigation into a fight
for survival.
This production couldn’t have been released at a better
time. Because of the world we live in today, most of you
will be able to understand the severity of this story and
gasp at its realism. The cinematography was key in
maintaining this realistic effect. Everything from the sand
of the desert to the Sheik’s monstrous palace, you are right
there with the team in this hot, hostile, foreign land.
There is a scene reminiscent of Clear and Present Danger
with Harrison Ford that is just nerve-raking. The ol’
“caravan of trucks in a tight road with tall buildings all
around” scene . . . yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
Well this one blows the socks off the Present Danger
version. Actually, you could more easily compare this movie
to Syriana although Syriana was a broader view of the whole
oil game where Kingdom is tighter story based on this
particular event.
Although I don’t see any Oscar nominations for best
performances out of this picture, they are all worthy of
honorable mention. Every member of the team embodied their
character very well. Jamie’s character commanded respect and
had an endless supply of raw determination as the team
leader. Jennifer was realistically unglamorous as an agent
in this environment and fought side by side with the boys.
Chris brought a sense of wisdom and experience to his
character. Jason’s character was the occasional comic relief
but is wasn’t Jason being funny through his character, it
was Jason playing a character that happened to be the team
clown . . . quality. Ashraf Barhom gave us a sharp role as
Colonel Faris Al Ghazi, the only true ally to the team’s
cause. Then, of course, there’s Jeremy Piven who can always
nail a memorable supporting role. He plays Damon Schmidt, a
U.S. State Department official stationed in Saudi Arabia and
trying desperately to maintain relations during this whole
ordeal, especially with the presence of this FBI team. He
delivers a quick, witty, and entertaining character as only
he can.
So you might have seen a commercial on TV or the web that
says something along the lines that the last 30 minutes are
so intense you won’t want to move . . . well . . . yeah,
pretty much, yeah. I must admit that even though I don’t
have years and years of experience as a movie critic, I must
tell you that as a fan of movies and as the movie critic
that I am, I saw no major flaws in this production. There is
really nothing negative for me to say about it. Director
Peter Berg (The Rundown, Friday Night Lights) has shown just
how talented he is not only as an actor and a writer, but as
a director as well. Not a bad resume. Action fans, you don’t
want to miss this one!
Film Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
AUDIO:
Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround - English Spanish French
Subtitles - English, Spanish,
French
BONUS FEATURES:
Deleted Scenes: The deleted scenes are all
compiled in a single selection. There is no option to select
a single scene. More or less 7 deleted scenes, most of them
are prior to the deployment to Saudi Arabia. The only scene
worth watching is the last one, which is a combat scene.
(11:07)
Character By Character: The Apartment
Shootout : Follow the journeys of six characters
during the pulse-pounding rescue sequence. (13:49)
Creating The Kingdom: An inside look at the
making of the film. (35:30)
Constructing The Freeway Sequence:
This featurette deconstructs the process of bringing the
freeway sequence to the big screen. (18:18)
History of The Kingdom: An Interactive
Timeline: Viewers scroll through decades of history
to learn more about key events in this animated timeline
that branches off into archival news stories, short
featurettes, text based stories, etc.
Feature Commentary with Director Peter
Berg
RATING BREAK DOWN:
FILM REVIEW |
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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BONUS
FEATURES |
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Director: Peter Berg
Writer: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 1hr 50mins
Staring:
Jamie Foxx
Chris Cooper
Jennifer Garner
Jason Bateman
Jeremy Piven
Danny Huston
Richard Jenkins
Producer: Michael Mann
Scott Stuber
Distributor: UNIVERSAL
pICTURES
Rating:
R for intense sequences of graphic
brutal violence, and for language.
Release Date: December 23, 2007
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