Review of Sneak Preview of The Kingdom with Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner

I had been looking forward to seeing The Kingdom for some time, feeling it was one of the better films that would make it to theaters in the Fall. When I got the chance to purchase tickets to a special presentation of a sneak preview, I was excited to attend and be one of the first people in the public to see the film. The Kingdom starts out a little differently that most movies about terrorism, presenting the audience with a quick history lesson during the opening credits. Rather than present a splashy opening, there is dialog as the time-line of involvement between The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and The United States of America is shown.

Highlighted is the relationship between the oil companies, and exactly why the nations have stayed close over the years. The film then opens to the view of a terrorist as he and a group look in on an American compound deep within Saudi Arabia. The American population all has ties to the oil companies, and there are many public enemies to the Americans being on Saudi soil. Needless to say, the terrorists commit an attack on the compound, and succeed in killing more than 100 Americans and Saudi Military guards.

After losing a friend in the attack, an FBI counter-terrorism team wants nothing more than to have the chance at setting foot in Saudi Arabia, and doing an investigation to figure out exactly what happened, and who the perpetrators were of this horrific event. Leading the way is Ronald Fleury played by Jamie Foxx, who is very head-strong and will not take "no" for an answer. Many people within the American government think it is a bad idea to send a team into Saudi Arabia, and the Saudis are not very accepting to having a team complicating matters for them by potentially showing weakness at not solving the crimes themselves.