While such post-9/11 films as The Guys and Reign Over Me are more dramatic character pieces about attempting to move on past that horrible day, The Kingdom attempts to merge that volatile environment with the spirit of a shoot-'em-up action movie. It's a sketchy premise, one  extremely tricky to pull off, but in the end, The Kingdom manages to successfully tackle this touchy subject matter in the form of escapist entertainment. It may not be as smart as it thinks it is, but it's not terribly exploitative either.

In The Kingdom, the United States has been dealt a crushing blow after an elusive terrorist executed not one but two successive bombings at an American housing compound in Saudi Arabia and mercilessly slaughtered oil company workers as well as their families. Take-charge FBI agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) is ready and willing to lead the agency's investigation into the incident, only to confront a flurry of political, ethical, and religious red tape preventing him from stepping on Saudi soil. Nevertheless, after a little finagling, Fleury manages to gain acceptance for his team -- comprised of computer techie Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman), medico Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner), and explosives expert Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper) -- to carry on their investigation a little more closely.

The group has more than a few tight conditions to work under, particularly a five-day window to see what information they can gather, and their every decision is at the mercy of a kind but dedicated Saudi policeman (Ashraf Barhom). This creates a situation the team must find a way to work around in order to  track down the brains behind the bombings and combat the impending threat growing against them.

After beginning the film with a brief history of Saudi Arabia's rise to power and a very jarring action sequence, The Kingdom settles into being a rather swift police procedural with a nice "stranger in a strange land" glaze. The story does address such intriguing topics as the presence of an American law enforcement team reflecting on the Saudi royal family, not to mention one of the agents being a woman (a whole other can of worms director Peter Berg peers into over the course of the movie). These themes are fleetingly touched upon (and pretty much discarded completely during the movie's intense, "bullet the blue sky" climax), but at least Berg includes enough of them in the plot to earn the viewer's interest and prove that some thought is going into more than the physics of a gazillion explosions. All of this is accomplished at an engaging, near-breakneck pace that makes the time fly by quickly. 

While Berg proves to be adept at capturing an edgy atmosphere and even ending the film on a realistic note, The Kingdom's cast is more of a mixed bag. Foxx does a solid and compelling turn as the lead FBI man on the case. Cooper, his usual awesome self, brings a sense of experience and a wry sense of humor to his role. Garner, on the other hand, is passable but still doesn't get to do much except hold a gun and wolf down Tootsie Pops. Although Barhom's performance is fine most of the time, he crumbles a bit under the pressure of playing such a predictable role. Bateman's character could've been scrapped altogether considering the little impact he makes, and even though he was only in two scenes, I couldn't wait for Jeremy Piven's weasely PR man to get off the screen.

Had The Kingdom been released before September 11, 2001, it most likely would have been instantly shuffled into the same category as those Tom Clancy movies from the '90s (albeit less dawdling and more to the point). But because of the nature and environment at the time of its inception, The Kingdom carries extra thematic baggage, and it ends up being a rousing,  intense, and skillful action film.

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated "R" for intense sequences of graphic brutal violence, and language.)