"The Kingdom" has some good spots, like the opening title montage that brings the audience up to speed about Saudi Arabia and why the US cares about that country in a historical context, some so-so spots, where the film plays out like CSI: Saudia Arabia, albeit with a bigger budget than a TV version of the CSI-based shows, and finishes somewhat strong and chaotic in its last act, but sort of misses a beat that would have made it an excellent film.
I think it could have been a little longer, actually, to flesh out more of the characters, and the conflicts arising from the FBI's presence in Saudi Arabia to investigate a terroristic attack on a US compound. The performance are overall good, never quite reaching outstanding or excellent territory, but that's more due to the script than the actors involved. The direction by Peter Berg is overall good, but his style is starting to get too tied to handheld camerawork as well (like Paul Greengrass).
I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.
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