THE KINGDOM
WERE RAMBO MARRIES SYRIANA
By Vishal Verma

Rating:

What is it?
Politics may or may not have done much good to the people but it certainly has been very much influential in giving an established villain to such escapist cinema worldwide.

First it was the World Wars, then the Vietnam fiasco and now the post 9/11 scenario. Long live the Policanos, Churchillianos, Hardlianos, and may peace prevail in the souls of Saddams and Osamas while Georgey Boy keeps on Bushing.

Let’s get back to ‘The Kingdom’.
So what happens in Peter Berg’s ‘The Kingdom’?.
Well guys, actually you are a guest at the wedding of Peter MacDonald’s ‘Rambo’ with Stephen Gaghan’s ‘ Syriana’ in Riyadh (somebody was whispering Arizona!!). And the thrilling point is during the wedding the street fighter ‘Rambo’ takes the upper hand of the edifying perception of "Syriana".

And what we get is a geopolitical turmoil with sum fun, guns and rocket launchers attached. Booom - "The Kingdom" is a high-octane thriller with an odd ingredient of wishfully subdued scenario of the American response to Islamic fundamentalist terrorism.

It also talks about good Arabs and Bad Arabs, in the context of the ethical nuances and ideological contradictions of the war on terror and blasting away. It mixes suspense and shoot-’em-up action with thorny questions about the war on terror and the shady pursuit of oil. But no need to get boiled!!, director Peter Berg takes care of this.

He successfully turns ‘The Kingdom’ into a well made action flick and it will be foolhardy to go with binoculars and search for serious messages in this whodunit? shoot-’em-up kind of a flick.

‘Rambo’ leaves his complex, thought provoking bride ‘Syriana’ in her weeding grown after parking the wedding kiss and marches on as a war battalion to provide the chicken soup for the starving souls of  action packed escapist cinema.

What is it all about?
The film opens with a horrific bombing at an American compound in Riyadh that houses oil company employees, leaving scores dead. The terrorist attack is unsettling not only because of the high death toll, but because the attack is so plausible and effective; instead of setting off a series of bombs, the terrorists incite the victims to flee towards one corner of the compound, where a suicide bomber is waiting.

An FBI counterterrorism team in Washington, D.C., led by Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx – fine), is itching to go to Saudi Arabia and investigate, particularly since one of their fellow agents was killed in the blast. But that tense U.S.-Saudi relationship results in roadblocks being thrown up every step of their way; neither U.S. politicians Danny Huston (nice cameo) as the Attorney General or the Saudi royalty want to upset the diplomatic applecart by giving American agents any jurisdiction in Saudi Arabia.

Even when they finally do get to Riyadh, surrounded by dozens of armed police for their "protection," the team has to fight to do more than get a guided tour of the blast site. But Fleury finds fellow good cop in the person of Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom - excellent), a Saudi colonel who helps the Americans both before and after the bullets and rocket-propelled grenades start flying.

What to look out for?
Director Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights") betters his previous work and sets the tone for a tense thriller.
Writer Matthew Michael Carnahan does a smooth, efficient job of storytelling to a lot of extent.

Smartly photographed by Mauro Fiore and edited by Kevin Stitt, Colby Parker Jr.

The last 30 minutes is a treat for any action film buff. 

Excellent performance by Ashraf Barhom.

What not?
Is it Riyadh or Arizona…….?
There is goofiness in the premise - The FBI investigators manage to blackmail a Saudi ambassador and dodge their own director, The U.S. attorney general and the rigid Royal Kingdom allows this. He lands in Riyadh and starts asking questions??.

Recommended:  Certainly for action film lovers.