“The Kingdom” begins with a tremendous terrorist attack on a U.S citizen compound housing American oil company employees and their families in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The terrorists are in Saudi uniforms and they kill hundreds of innocent men, women and children. They steal a Saudi patrol truck and shoots everyone.
Civilians playing a friendly softball game, run away from the gunshots right into a suicide bomber. That was only the first part of this two-part massive terrorist attack.
When FBI special agent Fleury (Jamie Foxx) gets the news, he wants to dispatch a team of FBI agents as soon as possible to catch those responsible for this.
The tense U.S.-Saudi relationship results in roadblock after roadblock.
Fleury soon negotiates a secret five-day trip into Saudi Arabia.
With the help of an explosives expert played by Chris Cooper, an intelligence analyst played by Jason Bateman, and a forensic scientist played by Jennifer Garner, Fleury and his team head out to Saudi Arabia to catch the culprits.
Once strict rules enforced by the Saudi government hold back any chance of an investigation, the FBI agents are allowed to look around, chaperoned by their escort, Saudi police chief Al Ghazi, but are not allowed to touch anything.
Fleury gains the trust of Ghazi, who helps them navigate royal politics and gets them permission to do a whole lot more, uncovering key evidence and helping them get to the bottom of this horrific attack.
The movie looks as if violence is going to erupt at any minute, but it’s more of a mystery until the last 30 minutes.
The last 30 minutes will have you on the edge of your seat as the FBI Agents and Al Ghazi end up in the wrong Saudi neighborhood at the culprit’s front door. “The Kingdom” is a suspense/thriller filled with a whole lot of drama.