Out of their element and under fire, the team must join forces with their Saudi counterparts. As these unlikely allies begin to unlock the secrets of the crime scene, the team is lead into a heart-stopping do or die confrontation.


REVIEW: Almost from the moment The Kingdom opens, we are given an unsettling reminder of the precarious nature of life in the Middle East. Director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) gives us a brutal terrorist attack on an oil company compound in Saudi Arabia, home to many American famliies.
Gunmen and a suicide bomber leave scores dead and after the authorities, including an FBI agent, arrive at the compound to investigate, the terrorists detonate a car bomb, claiming the lives of many more innocents.
Berg delivers the attack with all too shocking clarity so we're immediately gripped by proceedings.
News of the death of the FBI agent soon filters back to Washington DC where fellow agents Ronald Fleury (Foxx) and Janet Mayes (Garner) want revenge, and will do whatever it takes to gain access to the Saudi investigation.
Fleury and Mayes are eventually granted their wish and fly to the Middle East accompanied by fellow agents Adam Leavitt (Bateman) and Grant Sykes (Cooper).
There are several interesting sub plots once they reach the searing heat of Saudi Arabia. An American Government representative is more concerned that they remain out of trouble than solve the murders, while the agents quickly question the motives of those in charge of the Saudi investigation
The pace of the film slows a little in the middle but that allows the relationship between Fleury and Saudi escort, Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), to develop.
Al Ghazi is a scrupulous intelligence officer who Fleury quickly realises is just as intent on finding the terrorists. Barhom plays the role perfectly and is arguably the most watchable character.
The tension of the investigation eventually explodes into a brilliantly tense and violent climax as the investigators close in on an enemy who are closer than they might have imagined.


VERDICT: The Kingdom is a solid, highly watchable thriller. If anything it could have been even longer than 106 minutes but the explosive 30-minute battle scene at the end is a superb piece of cinema.