The Kingdom

A very strong four stars. Berg really knows his stuff. It begins with an ingenious collage of archive images of U.S - Arab relations combined with computer graphics. I'd even venture to guess that these are this year's most impressive opening titles. The approach to the subject is matter-of-fact, with no embellishments and unnecessary frills. The acting performances are all high caliber. I was very surprised by Jennifer Garner, the surprisingly "ordinary" Jason Bateman, and I have to take my hat off to the performance of the almost unknown Ashraf Barhom. The final action inferno ranks among this year's best, and I will stress once again that I don't mind shaky camera. So, my last words about the Kingdom? I'll just say this: In the end, we're all the same. (12/14/2007)

Michael Mann has laid his guardian hands on Peter Berg and the result is a quite provocative contribution to the problem of the current sores of the Western world, i.e., terrorism emanating from Muslim countries. Yes, it's all driven by the mainstream, which doesn't allow it to be as biting in some ways as it might like, but the filmmakers still managed to go further than, for example, their colleagues with Blood Diamond. The film's train of thought is mainly that even an ordinary Muslim wants to be a peaceful person whose concerns are his faith and his own family, and that fanaticism is the work of others. Berg manages to imbue these interviews with a fair amount of authorial sensitivity, drawing decent truths about both worlds from the many words spoken. However, in order to avoid falling into boredom, he lets the actors deliver hard-hitting catchphrases and at the end, he serves up some major action that sits the viewer in their armchair in such a way that nothing that could match it this season will stick in the memory. The scene with the car-jacking and subsequent kidnapping is, in my opinion, the most effectively escalating scene of the year, which also ties in with the London station stakeout in The Bourne Ultimatum. As a person who studies the issues in the Middle East and terrorism, I was quite pleased with The Kingdom, but as a casual viewer, I was perfectly settled and entertained. PS: To say that it is mainly the work of Michael Mann is nonsense, if only for the different functionality and emotional impact of some scenes. It's like saying that Spielberg actually made Transformers and not Bay. (10/16/2007)

The Kingdom is a precisely constructed and directed thriller with a generic plot that very much conforms to the American geopolitical agenda of the time, but also attempts to disguise its propagandistic dimension by building kitsch-laden sympathies for some of the characters of other nationalities. In the end, it even allows itself to poke at the supposed moral superiority and unambiguous firm resolve. But, of course, it remains solely at the level of an easily digestible mainstream flick that resolutely does not go against the grain. However, the effectively built team of main characters, each with their own role in the narrative, and especially the action are definitely worthy of praise. Though viewers will have to wait until the end for that, it is the natural culmination of the preceding events and the depicted characters, and above all it is realised with an outstanding symbiosis of dramatic construction, spatial topography, nervous camerawork and quick editing, as well as astonishing physical dynamics. (01/12/2021)

In terms of the writing, it’s very economical, dynamic, and enjoyable to watch without unnecessary rambling. Additionally, it doesn't take anyone's side, meaning that the FBI agents are not machines for Americanism, and not all Arabs are willing to commit suicide for Allah. There is a certain level of political incorrectness, but making a film about such a sharp and current topic is already quite an art in itself, especially with such a high budget, so the director cannot be criticized too much in this regard. And actually, he cannot be criticized either when it comes to the technical aspects. Though that is rather the work of the chief producer Michael Mann, because when it comes to action, it is mostly his style, the typical visual elements, editing composition, and especially the stunning sound and clarity. The action is simply excellent, raw and fast-paced. Above all, the final ten-minute heist is the best action sequence of the year. Yes, better than Bourne. (10/12/2007)

The craft is excellent, Berg does a good job with the action, although it all seems so polished that it is impersonal. The schematism in the world vision can be carried away, you can feel how much the screenwriter tried to plastically see the problem. Not that it is completely successful - the overall message in the style of "we all have families and we love them, so we are just people" is pleasantly dulled by the final point. I don't know if the creators wanted to suppress that cleverly cynical message at the last minute, and I really didn't understand the choice of music. Given the acting and the really frenetic and swollen last twenty minutes, The Kingdom will definitely pay off... A mastered genre film, but Peter Berg still lacks considerable dose of individuality to achieve the brilliance of Mann or Scott. (01/18/2009)