The Kingdom

Alright, so I went to see this highly anticipated Peter Berg action-drama on Friday night, and frankly I was a little disappointed. The casting was fine, of course I am a huge Jason Bateman fan. The storyline however was a little predictable and formulaic. In an NPR radio interview, Berg mentioned that the original ending was a twist on the cliche good guys ride off into the sunset after killing all the bad guys, in which all four protagonists are blown up in a suicide bombing and then the credits role. I truly think this would have been more realistic as (SPOILER ALERT) none of the main characters die. There is quite a bit of patriotism attached to this film, and the back story of Saudi Arabia as the real harbor for terrorists is intriguing, however, the genre mixture of action with realistic political global issues is a little too blurry. Fortunately, the action film comes out of top. The final shootout is intense (although not as great as anticipated) and the action and special effects are top-notch. Two complaints; Jennifer Garner is a great action star, but her character's attitude and ignorance regarding the culture in Saudi Arabia was almost annoying. Second, the camera work should have been a little more stable. Granted, many of the explosions and action sequences were complicated and benefited from the jerky motion, but it got a little old.

I may have had unrealistic expectations going in, and was fully entertained, but it wasn't as good as it could have been.
7/10