This thread discusses the Content article: Movie Review - The Kingdom

I just watched this last night and I agree that 3.5 stars is just about right for this movie. It did have a pretty slow start but the action does pick up after the FBI team lands in Saudi Arabia.

I liked the cinematography with a very documentary feel to the picture and less blockbuster looking. I do feel that the storyline was a bit weak though. If you think about, for about two thirds of the movie, the characters were not doing anything.

The first third was spent fighting the Washington politics to get their permission to go to Saudi. The second third was spent travelling there and once on the ground, not doing much because they were locked in the gym. Things on really start to get interesting in the last third of the movie.

I was a little disappointed with Jennifer Garner's role in the movie. Her character seemed a bit weak though she did take on a whole gang of terrorists.

I thought there was quite abit of emphasis on Jennifer Garner's maternal instincts in the movie. Especially in the scenes with the little child who eventually lead them to the leader of the gang.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she is in real life, mother to a baby girl with Ben Affleck.

But I thought it gave her character a different dimension, showing that she is not just one tough cookie army personnel but someone with feelings as well.

Saw The Kingdom about a week ago and I would say it was basically watchable, but not memorable. The storyline was fairly predictable and played out as you would expect. Did not really leave me with any sense of seeing something unique, but I think it would suit the tastes of the standard western audience. Like most american mass market movies, the parts were over played and the stereotypical characters were all in place.

It's worth a rental watch on a rainy afternoon at home, but save your cinema bucks for something more worthy....something like No Country for Old Men.