"The Kingdom" is not a date movie. It's an action movie, with plenty of guns and explosions, along with a very focused plot that you have to concentrate on constantly. It also gives a unique insight into the culture of Saudi Arabia, as well as a view of Muslims who are not gun-toting, ultra-conservative Jihadists.
Based on the Khobar Tower bombings in May 2003, "The Kingdom" focuses on the terrorist bombing of a softball game at a Riyadh complex for foreign workers. The FBI wants to investigate, but the American bureacracy makes it increasingly difficult for them. After a bit of gratuitous and ultimately unbelievable blackmail, four FBI agents get themselves sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate.
I'm not going to go much further into the plot, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. But I want to point out a number of things that rather impressed me.
First, the introduction. The movie is introduced with a stylized, artistic timeline of important events in Saudi-American relations. It's fascinating to have it all laid out right before you. The timeline doesn't gloss over the American fascination with oil, or Saudi involvement with terrorism and hardline jihadist clerics, or any other bits of "distasteful" history. Though the timeline is by no means complete, it contains a decent amount of fascinating information that, if you pay attention to it, definitely improves your experience for the rest of the movie.
Secondly, one of the main characters is an Arab who is not a terrorist, American-hater, bin Laden sympathizer, ruthless or amoral soldier, or jihadist. Colonel Faris Al-Ghazi is an good, honorable man who wants to do his job well, bring the perpetrators of the horrible attack to justice, and be the best father he can be for his children. It's refreshing to see the an Arab portrayed favorably, because there are many wonderful people of Arabic descent who are consistently villified for their backgrounds and beliefs.
Finally, the movie pays spectacular attention to detail. The average American, who, I'm rather embarrassed to say, has very little knowledge of Saudi traditions or Islam, will probably miss many of the little details. Even I, who studied the Middle East extensively in my World History classes, found myself having moments of clarity five minutes or so after seeing something, in which I realized what was actually going on. How many Americans will realize that Jews are not allowed into Saudi Arabia, which is why the customs officials had issues with Agent Leavitt's having Israeli stamps in his passport?
Ultimately, The Kingdom was a really fun movie not only for the action and because everything exploded (always a plus in my book), but also because it was educational. Maybe it didn't start out trying to teach anything, but it ended up teaching me a lot about Islamic traditions and Saudi culture. By showing the "good" Arab alongside the "bad" Arab, the movie tries to distinguish the terrorist from the everyday Saudi,trying to prove that they're not all the monsters the media makes them out to be. Everything's not all rosy and wonderful, but it's a step in the right direction.
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