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When a group of Americans working in the Middle East
are killed, an FBI agent convinces their government to allow
a tactical terrorist team to come over, look at the debris
and help them catch the killers. Running into language and
cultural barriers, the atmosphere is only heightened when
one of their own is kidnapped as part of an execution on
the internet. ***
Peter Berg’s “The Kingdom” got the raw end from critics
because it uses a similar herky-jerky style as “The Bourne
Identity” and “United Flight 237” but it works for Berg’s
film establishing a visual metaphor for the shaky ground
that Americans are on and the fact that they are in an environment
totally foreign to their experience at home. Filled with
strong performances, the one area where “The Kingdom” falls
down is providing enough character development and interaction
between the team (which is our main focus) at the expense
of the thriller elements. That said, it’s the thriller elements
that power this gripping story. ---
Image & Sound:
Grainy with colors that are often washed out, this is
the intentional look of “The Kingdom”. The original theatrical
exhibition is served well by a top notch transfer from Universal.
***
Audio is rich with detail particularly when the group
travels to the middle east and during the action sequences.
The use of audio here helps to push the audience into the
strange environment with the team and isolates them at the
same time. A very nice use of the surround sound to create
a sense of psychological strangeness and isolation. ---
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