Vernon Boothe, Contributor
Forensics examiner Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner) in a scene from The Kingdom. - Contributed
The Kingdom is one of those films that leaves you with questions swirling in your head as the final credits roll and you make your way out of the cinema.
Peter Berg forces us to question our own morality, tolerance and our ability to forgive. This film is as much about tolerance as it is about oil and American foreign policy in the Middle East, the action sequences are simply a byproduct of commercial movie making.
A terrorist bombing at an American compound in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia serves as the catalyst that pushes a crack Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) I investigative team into action on Arabian soil.
Friends killed
The bombing has killed hundreds of Americans, including FBI agents stationed in Saudi Arabia. Agents who also happen to be close personal friends of the investigative team lead by Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) a gritty no nonsense professional. Fleury wants in from the get go and eventually gets his way despite the attempts by his superiors to play political games and deny his team access.
The investigation in Saudi Arabia does not fear any better as Fleury and his team are made mere bystanders and are only allowed to observe. Once again Fleury shows that he knows how to play the political game and with the help of Saudi police Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhoum) he gets permission for his team to actually do something other than observe.
In the process they are caught up in ambushes that lead to spectacular fire fights and even an attempt by the "terrorists" to film the decapitation of a captured American.
Jennifer Garner (Janet Mayes), Chris Cooper (Grant Sykes), Jason Bateman (Adam Leavitt) and Ali Suliman (Sgt. Haytham) also star in this dramatic addition to Peter Berg's directorial resume.
See it and ask yourself the question how would you react to great personal loss, both the Americans and the Saudis have the same idea "don't worry we will kill them all". Scary isn't it.
