The Kingdom (Widescreen Edition)

Solid, entertaining action with a splash of humanity
This movie is a beautiful and stunning rarity: a film where tough, competent, smart characters actually show real human emotions.

One of the investigators is kidnapped and nearly beheaded. He fights fiercely, taking a severe beating but saving his own life by delaying the filmed execution while he's subdued. When rescue arrives he fights his captors, while bound, with a dogged ferocity that leaves no doubt as to his action-hero cred. But in the moments when the blade is at his throat, there is no question that this man is terrified. After his rescue, one of his friends asks if he's all right. The hilarious and utterly truthful way he responds with an expression is one of the best-acted moments in the movie. And when the rest of the team moves in to confront the bad guys, he stays behind, sinking to the floor in quiet shock. A movie that doesn't show the tough action hero immediately grabbing a gun and rushing into battle without blinking gets my vote for something...

Very good film be careful what you'd hear
As we stand in a war that has already lasted longer than all of World War II and Hollywood's method for handling the material is to shoot for the jugular, then crack a one-liner. Audiences can't seem to handle anything remotely serious without shenanigans on the side, but fortunately The Kingdom is so well-made, engaging (even if the screenplay talks smarter than it is), and, at times, heart-stopping that it's impossible to look away As the film opens, terrorists (dressed as Saudi police officers) launch a suicide attack on a softball game involving mostly Americans living inside a Western compound within the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While the suits debate their next move, FBI agent Ronald Fleury (Foxx) negotiates a five-day trip to Saudi Arabia to investigate the crime firsthand. Joining him are three others; the bomb expert (Cooper), the forensics guru (Garner), and the guy whose sole purpose is drop annoying one-liners (Bateman). Once the crew arrives they befriend...

Great Action Flick - with Depth
O.k., I love Jamie Foxx - and Jennifer Garner - so I expected this to be what I was looking for. And it was, but also so much more.
The story in short: There has been a terrorist attack on an American compound in the Saudi Kingdom. A handful of FBI agents are sent over to search for clues. Although at first they have to learn to deal with the Saudi opposition, they succeed to win over the good guys and together they manage to solve the case.
This sounds very dry. Trust me, it isn't. The film will definitely keep you pinned to the edge of your seat for the 145 minutes.
The action is extremely well done. Of course there is a car chase, but I have never before seen one like this. And I'm usually not a fan of car chases either. This one had me though.
You all know Jennifer Garner has had a few lessons in how to fight, and she's showing off some good results, as does Jamie.
The movie's pace is terrific. It feels natural, never as if constructed.
The characters...

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