2008 Woodie Awards
The Kingdom: exploding into movie theaters
Matthew Howard
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: Life!
- Page 1 of 2 next >
I saw The Kingdom this past week in a sneak preview, and was blown away by the non-stop action, and gripping storyline. This would be a great movie for everyone, especially all those guys out there who would much rather watch a good action movie than a chick flick.
When American citizens are attacked in foreign countries, it is the job of the FBI to investigate those attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice. When these attacks occur in countries where certain American interests are located (namely, Arab countries with oil), the FBI's ability to perform these tasks can be hindered by both political obstructions and cultural differences. The Kingdom, which opens Sept. 28, does a superb job of portraying this labyrinth of modern-day international relations.
Matthew Michael-Carnahan makes his screenwriting debut with The Kingdom, and writes in a similar manner to another like-minded screenwriter, Stephen Gaghan, who wrote Syriana.
What separates Carnahan from Gaghan is that, while Gaghan focused Syriana on the political aspect of US international relations, Carnahan focuses most on the violence associated with American foreign affairs.
Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman collaborate to form an elite FBI task force sent to investigate a terrorist attack at a US housing complex in Saudi Arabia.
Upon receiving word of the attacks, Ronald Fluery (Foxx) transforms from a family man into a FBI agent investigating the attacks from a briefing room in Washington, D.C. Fluery knows he can only do so much from the safe confines of his office and pressures his superiors to allow him to go to Saudi Arabia to investigate the attacks.
Fluery is granted just five days to lead a team of specialists into The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which, when asked, Grant Sykes (Cooper) equates to Mars. It is clear from the moment the team arrives in Saudi Arabia that their lives are in immediate danger.
The King of Saudi Arabia decides that the political ramifications of Americans being killed are too high and reserves his highest priority for their safe return home, possibly even higher than catching the perpetrator of the attacks.
When American citizens are attacked in foreign countries, it is the job of the FBI to investigate those attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice. When these attacks occur in countries where certain American interests are located (namely, Arab countries with oil), the FBI's ability to perform these tasks can be hindered by both political obstructions and cultural differences. The Kingdom, which opens Sept. 28, does a superb job of portraying this labyrinth of modern-day international relations.
Matthew Michael-Carnahan makes his screenwriting debut with The Kingdom, and writes in a similar manner to another like-minded screenwriter, Stephen Gaghan, who wrote Syriana.
What separates Carnahan from Gaghan is that, while Gaghan focused Syriana on the political aspect of US international relations, Carnahan focuses most on the violence associated with American foreign affairs.
Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman collaborate to form an elite FBI task force sent to investigate a terrorist attack at a US housing complex in Saudi Arabia.
Upon receiving word of the attacks, Ronald Fluery (Foxx) transforms from a family man into a FBI agent investigating the attacks from a briefing room in Washington, D.C. Fluery knows he can only do so much from the safe confines of his office and pressures his superiors to allow him to go to Saudi Arabia to investigate the attacks.
Fluery is granted just five days to lead a team of specialists into The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which, when asked, Grant Sykes (Cooper) equates to Mars. It is clear from the moment the team arrives in Saudi Arabia that their lives are in immediate danger.
The King of Saudi Arabia decides that the political ramifications of Americans being killed are too high and reserves his highest priority for their safe return home, possibly even higher than catching the perpetrator of the attacks.