 | STARRING: Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jeremy Piven RELEASE DATE: 9/28/2007 The Verdict |
When the release date of a movie is pushed back, that's usually a bad sign. Either test audiences did not like the movie, or the movie studio has not figured out how to market it. The Kingdom was originally scheduled for release on April 20th , but the date was pushed back until September 28th. The movie was produced by Academy Award nominated director Michael Mann and stars Jamie Foxx & Jennifer Garner. The marketing department had plenty to work with, so my guess was that test audiences gave the film a bad score.
The Kingdom opens with a cool credit sequence that also chronicles the history of Saudi Arabia and their rise to power through oil. Then the scene switches to a softball game in an American housing compound in Saudi Arabia. People are enjoying themselves playing softball with their families. The fun is interrupted by a terrorist attack. Men, women, and children are shot down and blown up in what is a jarring opening to the film. Jamie Foxx stars as Ronald Fluery. He is the lead FBI agent assigned to make the trip to Saudi Arabia to investigate. His brings along 3 other members of his team, Janet (Jennifer Garner), Adam (Jason Bateman), & Grant (Chris Cooper). The team of agents arrives in Saudi Arabia, where a Saudi officer is assigned to keep watch over them. They are initially locked inside a gym, and only let out for photo opportunities. Jeremy Piven plays an unlikeable American official who's only concern is getting the agents back home as soon as possible. They only have 5 days to solve the case, or they will be sent packing. It seems that the Saudi's have no intention of letting the American team help with the investigation. But this team of FBI agents has not come all this way just to sit on their asses all day. During a dinner with a Saudi Prince, Ronald is able to convince the Prince that they have the skills to solve the crime. The very next day the true investigation is under way. In almost no time at all, suspects are identified, and subsequently murdered in a raid by the Saudi's. Ronald knows that they only killed the low level members of the terrorist cell, but the government spin is that the case is solved and it's time for the agents to come home. Saudi security is called in to escort the FBI agents back to the airport. But on the way, the caravan is hit by a car bomb. In the ensuing chaos, Adam is kidnapped. The rest of the team, along with 2 of the Saudi police, jump into a car and take up the chase. This is when the movie kicks into overdrive and turns into a hard core action film. You get a car chase, shootouts, explosions, and fights as Ronald leads his team into battle to save Adam.
The Kingdom is really a mixed bag. The open scenes and closing scenes were very well done. The parts in between are questionable. It is funny at times, but then at other times it falls flat. Jamie Foxx has good chemistry with the Saudi officer assigned to watch over the Americans, but there was no chemistry among the team of FBI agents. You don't really feel for Adam when he is captured. The action scenes are exciting, but there are boring parts as well. The investigation itself is wrapped up way too quickly to be believable. They basically solve the case in 2 – 3 days. If only it was that easy to hunt down terrorist cells. The audience I saw the film with loved the extended action at the end, as did I. They yelled, clapped, or cheered at all the right moments. But does this movie want to be an action film or a serious drama? Maybe that is considered a marketing problem. It's not clear to me why the release date of the movie was pushed back, since the audience response was positive. The movie was better than I expected, even though Jamie Foxx is capable of better work. Overall, the good slightly outweighs the bad. See this one in the theater.
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