matrixrok9

I'm wondering why Mann still works Foxx. I read an article online stating that Foxx was acting like a diva on the Miami Vice set. Foxx supposedly made Mann change the ending. The latter part is hard to believe since Mann has a pull in Hollywood but who knows.

maingon

looks good I will go see it

MTRodaba2468

I've been interested in this movie ever since the trailer was released.

The Bus

Wow, each trailer is worse. This can only mean that they must be more appealing to a popular audience. The original trailer with the Dead Can Dance music and the same song from the Babel trailer is much better.

I don't take this as a knock on the movie. It still looks like it only has one or two action sequences.

kantonburg

I'm still excited to see the film. Not sure why, but there aren't many films I want to see in the theater (mainly because you never know how the experience is going to be) , but this is one that I'm actually looking forward to.

PopcornTreeCt

This movie just looks very, very generic.

GrimTangent

I'm looking forward to it. I'm actually going to a sneak preview tonight. Are sneak previews generally popular? I've never been to one and am wondering how early I should show up.

vwbeetlvr

my sneak preview wasn't even full. For what its worth I really enjoyed it. It was a lot easier to follow than say syriana. Great plot. Good times.

GrimTangent

I got back just a little while ago from a screening. I thought it was an excellent movie. Much better than the last two films I've seen in the theatre (Bourne and 3:10). Over-use of close-ups and jittery camera-work distracted me sometimes, but the story was intelligent, the characters had depth, and the action was engrossing. There was even a little primer on the history of Saudi Arabia during the opening credits. Oh, and it had the best last minute I've seen in a long time.

FantasticVSDoom

Yeah, there was a lot more action in it than I thought, and a pretty intense ending... Kept my attention throughout and found it pretty entertaining.

BJacks

I thought it was so-so. It's one of those films that thinks it's way more important than it actually is. And I found the end to be totally blah.

woofman

Saw this tonight and really enjoyed it. Granted I'm not a hard movie fan to please, but I thought they didn't dumb it down or cliche it as much as I expected, it had great action sequences, and it kept the tension rolling throughout. I'd give it 3 out of 4.

DJLinus

That's disappointing, but not surprising (the camerawork was my biggest complaint of Berg's otherwise good Friday Night Lights). And I was really looking forward to this movie, too. Now I'll just wait until it comes out on DVD and rent it.

I actually felt a little ill watching The Bourne Ultimatum. Ugh. This is one film technique that I wish would go away (or, at least, be toned down). I can handle it in some of my favorite TV shows ("The Office", "The Shield", "Arrested Development"), but then they don't go all crazy with it.

B.A.

Very good film. ***1/2 out of five.

I would have liked it even more w/ a different lead. Jamie Foxx is one of the most over-rated actors in Hollywood.

The Bus

I like what A.O. Scott wrote: "Mr. Foxx does most of his acting with the muscles in his jaw and his upper arm, delivering terse dialogue in a silky whisper."

B.A.

It was as if it was his second time around playing Ricardo Tubbs.

He hasn't impressed me one bit since Collateral (and I guess Ray).

DVD Polizei

I'm waiting for the Widescreen SteadyCam Version.

grim_tales

But he was superb in Ray.

DJariya

I just got back from seeing it this afternoon. IMO, it was a pretty damn good action movie. I was surprised at how many cameos there were from stars of Friday Night Lights..both the movie and TV series. Even the music score at some points was very similar to stuff I've heard on FNL. Berg even had a small cameo in the beginning as well. I have to agree with B.A. that a different lead actor would have made the movie so much better. I enjoyed Jen Garner as well. One of the action scenes with her brought an "Alias" flashback. She looked pretty badass with the machine gun.

There were some pretty good performances and I thought the final sequence was probably one of the best shot action scenes I have seen this year.

I'd give it a solid B.

Patman

"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-.

The Bus

IIRC the original cut was 20-30 minutes longer.

mdc3000

I'd be interested to hear differences between this and the original cut. I really enjoyed the movie for what it was, but couldn't help but think it had higher aspirations that it never rose up to. I was sitting about 4 rows closer than I would have liked and the handheld camera work started to get to me towards the end and I couldn't help but think how similar the music was to Friday Night Lights - especially in the scenes of Saudi's at home...hell, even their homes looked like something from FNL.

Jamie Foxx was alright but definitely the low point for me in an otherwise stellar cast. I thought Garner and Bateman were the best and the final action sequence is one of the more thrilling ones in recent memory, so I'd recommend it on that alone. It only loses points for me because it starts and ends on such a high but the middle drags a bit and the very end leaves a bit to be desired... still worth seeing and I'll be picking up the HD DVD for sure.

4/5

SuckaMC

finally got to see this tonight. After being hyped up after months of seeing the trailer, I have to say... this movie rocked! Its the first time in a long time that a movie has lived up to my trumped up expectations. I was riveted throughout and tense during that whole last half hour. The fact that the hostage ( I won't say who, just incase) fought his ass off to survive was welcome change. I would welcome with open arms a longer cut of this movie.. Amazing.

DJariya

I'm surprised that not more people on this thread have seen this movie or want to talk about it. It fucking rocked! And as said before, the final 1/2 hour is probably the most thrilling action-packed sequence I've seen in an action film this year.

jdslater1

I really liked this film, the opening attack is quite distressing and the action scene at the end is abit on the brutal side. I will get this on HD when it released.