The Kingdom

Tonight I watched The Kingdom. This movie is about a small team of FBI investigators, led by Jamie Foxx, in Saudi Arabia tracking down terrorists who had attacked one of the compounds housing foreign workers and their families.

I would categorize The Kingdom as an action flick. The action sequences during the climax was quite well done; there were several tense and suspenseful moments in the movie where I couldn't make a better than 50/50 guess as to how a scene would turn out.

I thought all the actors' performances were well done. I particularly enjoyed Ashraf Barhom's performance, and both Foxx and Jennifer Garner were good, too.

I'm of mixed mind of the denouement. It was either a case of the director using a sledgehammer to bludgeon his point across to the audience or a case of something that needed to be said to balance the film's message--I can't decide. Don't expect to come out laughing and smiling after the credits roll.

Unfortunately, the many positives of this film were overshadowed by the camera direction. I can understand what the director was trying to achieve--it's just too bad it was done so poorly. I sat through the last three quarters of the movie with a headache because of the camera's quick, jerky movements and extreme closeups. It's not like I was sitting in the first row, either (I did that once, and NEVER again). I was roughly in the middle of the theater; moving further back wouldn't have helped me.

I'd have probably rated this film three and a half stars, but due to the headache-inducing camera direction I'm giving The Kingdom...

1.5 out of 5 stars.