| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
B |
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| Acting: |
B+ |
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| Direction: |
B |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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The Kingdom - A new type of post 9/11 film.
by Zay (movies profile)
Jan 28, 2008
89
of
111 people found this review helpful
Warning, slight spoilers (though not much more than what can be derived from the trailers.)
This is not an anti-arab/anti-muslim film, which is a relief as it easily could have been turned into such, but at times it seems to go to almost pedantic lengths to impress that fact upon us.
Whil the imagery is wonderful and the actors, some real unknowns in Western television, are fantastic, it tries to get you involved in all the lives. The FBI team, the civilians in the kingdom, the princes, the higher generals, the lower officers, the common soldier and the evil terrorists. Trying to show all of that in two hours makes for a lot of compression as well as a lot of tacked on scenes in order to draw sympathy to - well - everyone.
But, after that gripe, would I recommend this to people, yes.
- Cast -
It is an excellent piece of filmwork and even though I am not a huge Jamie Foxx fan, his acting is excellent and his role is well played, although at times a bit one dimensional. Strange that the leading man should have the role that has the least amount of exposition (except at the beginning of the film, I guess they figured it would hold you through.) Chris Cooper is fantastic, again, and my only regret is his lack of screentime. Jennifer Garner is well away from her "Alias" role and manages to do tough and scared pretty well without pouting her lips too much. Jason Bateman, a small time actor with too many bit parts and tv appearances, shines and hopefully he'll get a bigger and better role sometime, and not comedy. The person who steals the movie is Ashraf Barhoum, the man who plays Faris, the person in charge of overseeing the FBI team. His performance is nothing short of spectacular and he is definitely someone to watch out for. I could go into the secondary characters, but, there are too many, suffice to say they too are show stealers when they enter in the frame, taking it away from the big names with such ease it can be frightening.
- Directing/Editing -
Okay, if you're not a big fan of shakey cam fights and car chases, this actually may not be the movie for you. The "get in your face down and dirty" camerawork is all around. However, there aren't really "that" many fights, explosions, gunbattles, car chasing, bomb.. okay, yes there are. There is a nice juxtaposition of the sterile "American" shots and the slighty grittier "Kingdom" shots, withough distracting the audience too much, just enough to make a mood. The editing is good and the cuts are pretty clean, although sometimes you wish it would just stay on a person for 1/2 a second longer. Also, directing wise.. would a group a forensic FBI agents be able to combat terrorist gangs? I don't know about their training, but if they are anything like what is protrayed.. hardcore! If not, suspension of disbelief!
- Visual Effects -
While there are "action" sequences, the effects are seamlessly integrated and look very authentic. Nothing is done in excess when it comes to the small fight scenes. Many of the close encounters are done via tension and then some brutal one on one (or several vs. some explosive device.) There doesn't seem to be anything showy other than what was absolutely necessary. A lot of the buildup and violence was implied through the characters, the storyline and dang good acting.
-Overall-
It was a pleasant surprise for me when I went and saw it. I thought I would be seeing something generic and I definitely got a movie that has a lot more depth than I ever expected - but also so much depth in so many areas that no single area was explored quite as much as I desired. |
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