The Kingdom DVD (Widescreen) Review
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 01.10.2008
Jamie Foxx leads another hit in The Kingdom!
The Kingdom DVD Review
Cast
Jamie Foxx: Ronald Fleury
Jennifer Garner: Janet Mayes
Chris Cooper: Grant Sykes
Jason Bateman: Adam Leavitt
Ashraf Barhom: Colonel Faris Al Ghazi
Ali Suliman: Sergeant Haytham
Jeremy Piven: Damon Schmidt
Director: Peter Berg
Producer: Michael Mann, Scott Stuber
Writer: Matthew Michael Carnahan
DVD Information
Genre: Action/Drama/Thriller
Region: Region 1
Number of Discs: 1
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: December 26, 2007
Run Time: 110 minutes
Rated: R
Specs: Dolby Digital 5.1 – English, Spanish and French; Subtitles – English, Spanish and French; Anamorphic Widescreen – 2.35:1
A movie rooted in political commentary, The Kingdom is a high-octane action thriller that really does deliver in keeping it’s viewers on the edge of their seats. Boasting a superior cast with tremendous on-screen chemistry, The Kingdom is a presentation not everybody is going to agree with, but should still be an entertaining ride for all that see it.
The movie begins with an opening sequence conveying the relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which revolves around oil. While there is certainly animosity between the two nations, both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia prosper as a result of interaction. According to this opening sequence in The Kingdom, Saudi Arabia is the number one oil producer in the world, while the United States is the largest oil consumer. Thus, the U.S. depends on that oil as a resource, while Saudi Arabia relies on it for economic benefit. This relationship does not please everybody of Islamic faith, however. And as a result, terrorism is used as a method of condemnation.
Following this timeline sequence, the film opens with American oil workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia playing a game of softball near their company’s housing compound. While being watched from afar by unknown Muslims, a pair of Saudi State Police impersonators hijack a car and begin shooting at nearby residents, while another impersonator who appears to be helping the panicked Americans turns out to be a suicide bomber. Later in the evening, FBI Special Agent Francis Manner calls Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) in America to tell him what happened. Shortly after getting off the phone with Fleury, an ambulance explodes where everybody involved in the afternoon attack are congregating, killing hundreds more people, including Manner.
This becomes the basis of a mission for Fleury and three other members of his FBI crew. They need to get into Saudi Arabia and track down the people who caused the death of their colleague, and subsequently bring them to justice. Unfortunately, Washington politicians, predominantly the Attorney General, see a problem with putting more Americans on Saudi soil, especially at such a time of heightened sensitivity. With some finagling, however, Fleury is able to buy five days over there. He brings forensics expert Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), bomb expert Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper) and intelligence expert Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman) along with him to investigate the terrorist act, and see if they can track down the ones responsible.
Upon landing, they are met and escorted by Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), who is initially an escort/babysitter for the FBI agents while in Saudi Arabia, there to make sure they are safe and protected. Fleury and his crew soon find out that the Saudi State Police have no idea how to conduct a thorough investigation. However, he has no real authority for his crew to partake in one. They are basically stuck watching the Saudi State Police botch up their chance to find out exactly what happened.
Fleury was able to obtain more power at a dinner hosted by Prince Ahmed Bin Khaled (Omar Berdouni). He convinced the Prince to allow him and his crew to play a much bigger role in helping out with the investigation, essentially leading it, so that more progress can be made in the team’s remaining time to find the terrorists responsible for the bombings.
Once the FBI agents get more power, a better bond is formed between them and Al Ghazi and Sergeant Haytham (Ali Suliman.) Most specifically, Fleury and Al Ghazi start to realize they’re not much different people after all, even if they live in entirely different cultures.
More pieces to the puzzle are put together as a result of better investigation practices. However, their leads take them to an undesired location with only teenager terrorists-in-training, and not the head honcho they were seeking. Unfortunately, Fleury and his crew are not given a second chance to get the people they are really searching for and are to head back to America, as ordered by Damon Schmidt (Jeremy Piven) of the U.S. Embassy.
On their way to the airport, however, is an attack on the freeway that leads into the final action sequence that not only keeps the attention of any human being that still has a pulse, but also provides the answers to everything the crew’s been seeking since landing in Saudi Arabia in the first place.
As stated earlier, this is not only an action flick. At the very bottom of it is a political message. Whether it’s that the Saudi’s are prehistoric in their ideals or that their view of Americans is not much different than Americans’ view of them is based upon the opinion of the individual viewer. I think they are both present and they are both at least mildly accurate. But it’s the execution of portraying those messages with a thrilling conclusion to the film that’s important here.
Some plot jumping is present and it’s hard to imagine both the immediacy and privilege of access given to the agents while in Saudi Arabia. However, since this is a movie after all, and it’s an hour and 50-minute one at that, you kind of need to play along.
The casting is incredible and the on-screen chemistry was perhaps the biggest reason behind the film’s success. Foxx plays a great lead and Barhom turns in a tremendous performance in his first American movie that should put him on the map for bigger roles in more American films. They play off each other very well, and it’s important to see the evolving bond portrayed in the movie between their two characters.
Bateman has been accused of being annoying in his role, and I can’t say I disagree. The arrogance of the character does overshadow the acting sometimes. But the comedic aspect he brings to this film is the bread and butter of the Arrested Development star. He’s a minor hitch, though, as the other two supporting special agents in Garner and Cooper really pull through.
What really pulls through for these characters is, again, the on-screen chemistry they all have, and the emotional appeal they all present throughout The Kingdom.
I think this is Peter Berg’s best work as a director to date, and I was taken aback at how the impact of this film exceeded my expectations. Even if you don’t agree with the message and you don’t think it’s a very impressive action movie, The Kingdom will still entertain you and might even make you think a little, which is lacking from a lot of movies nowadays. At the very least, you owe it to yourself to rent it, though I’d sooner recommend you just buy the thing on DVD, as it’s a worthy addition to any collection.
Video
There’s really nothing to complain about as far as video is concerned. Not too bright, yet not too dark either. Perfect contrast for a Middle Eastern setting with tremendous visuals for the various explosion scenes.
Score: 8.5
Audio
Nothing to complain about here, either. Dialogue sounds good and as with the video, explosions receive their proper attention. With Danny Elfman at the helm for music, it’s hard to go wrong. I think the soundtrack in the film was great. And no, Stronger by Kanye West is not actually used in the movie.
Score: 8.0
Bonus Features
Movie may be viewed with feature commentary from director Peter Berg.
Deleted Scenes
Deleted Scene 1- This is an expanded scene from when Fleury talks to the son of Francis Manner. Talking with Manner’s wife is also present in this deleted scene. (1:43)
Deleted Scene 2- This is an expanded scene from when the FBI agents go to speak with the Attorney General about getting permission to head over to Saudi Arabia. A more detailed discussion and argument is shown, as well as Fleury’s reaction after the meeting. (7:07)
Deleted Scene 3- This is an expanded scene from inside the apartment building that the final action scene takes place in. It involved more shooting, but nothing else really. (1:08)
Character By Character: The Apartment Shootout
This feature is actually pretty interesting. As the title implies, they show the different accounts of each character in the beginning part of the final apartment scene in the film. There’s the perspective of Ronald Fleury and Faris Al Ghazi (3:37), Janet Mayes (3:55), Adam Leavitt (3:25), and Grant Sykes and Sergeant Haytham (2:41).
Constructing The Freeway Scene
This is a pretty solid bonus feature in which they show you exactly how they did the freeway scene. This is the scene when you think all the agents are going home, but those plans get spoiled. This goes in-depth on how the explosions were planned and constructed, how they manipulated the cars to do what they wanted and how the actors went about doing their business among all this carnage. Very good bonus feature. (18:17)
Creating The Kingdom
Obligation To Authenticity- This goes into how the project came about, how the crew wanted to keep things as accurate as possible within the context of the film and how cast members were brought into the movie. (7:16)
Fire In The Hole- The cast and crew ended up going to an FBI training school to learn about explosions and how they are investigated. (2:25)
Simple Ballistic Issues- The cast learns how to shoot and reach to shooting. (4:15)
Building A Kingdom- This is about the location, and how they had to film in Arizona because actually filming in one of the Saudi Arabian towns represented in The Kingdom would have been too dangerous. They constructed a set that looked almost completely like the location in Saudi Arabia. They also showed how certain scenes were filmed in their artificial town. (6:16)
On Location In Abu Dhabi- They did film portions of the film in Saudi Arabia, and this feature talks about how bad the heat was (in Arizona, as well) and how that combined with the physical nature of the film took a toll on Jason Bateman keeping his lunch down. (3:29)
King Style- This goes over Peter Berg’s approach to directing The Kingdom. (3:09)
Foreign Relations- This feature looks into the extra effort put into the film by Ashraf Barhom and Ali Suliman, who are not accustomed to doing American films. (4:37)
Friendship- This looks into the more human elements of the film and the comparable nature of American and Saudi viewpoints portrayed in the movie. (4:01)
History Of The Kingdom: An Interactive Timeline
This is a pretty cool feature that allows you to read about certain dates in Saudi Arabia-American history. You can scroll through a timeline and read about particular dates and events that are important from a historical perspective in understanding the relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The 411: As far as action movies go that have terrific actors with great on-screen chemistry, The Kingdom has to rank pretty high. There will be some that disagree with the underlying political message. But that doesn’t impact the entertainment value and emotional appeal of Peter Berg’s finest work as a director to date. There are also plenty of top-notch bonus features to keep you interested beyond the movie, making The Kingdom a great overall DVD. This is a movie you have to see and you should add to your DVD collection.
