The premise of The Kingdom sounded like a home run. In a post-911 era, a group of renegade FBI agents with a conscience are deployed to Saudi Arabia to investigate the the murder of helpless Americans in a western base. Add to this mix the great actors Chris Cooper and Jamie Foxx, you would think you’ve found box office gold.
However, after watching The Kingdom, my assessment of this movie can only be characterized as “okay” or “decent” but not great. 
A few reasons, but primarily storyline. I know we live in a day of suspending disbelief and taking creative license, but c’mon, when three FBI agents take on at least a dozen soldiers in a shootout (equipped with machine guns nonetheless) and none of the good guys are shot, one has to wonder about authenticity. It’s not director Peter Berg’s fault. Movies such as Syriana prey heavily upon the reality of terror, and not the procedural storyline of getting from point A to point B with no bullet wounds.
One of the redeeming parts of The Kingdom is it’s eloquent ending. Without providing spoilers, let’s just say that the movie does a great job (and fair) of showing us both sides of the story.
Chris Cooper is solid as always, and Foxx cashes in a good performance as the leader. Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman add lukewarm performances in a supporting role (I’d rather see those two together in Juno).
The Kingdom is okay, but not great.
