John's Movie Musings

Because Netflix is treating me like an addict and cutting me off from the good stuff, I had to make a visit to the dealer down the street. Mr. Redbox ain't always reliable, but when I need a fix, the man comes through.

I missed The Kingdom when it came out last year and it's been near the top of my "Must See" list ever since. Like most movies I really want to see, I kept away from all reviews and plot elements and went into it pretty clueless. All I knew was that there were guns and sand and Jamie Foxx. And if I knew anything about movie taglines, that would have been it. The Kingdom. Guns. Sand. Jamie Foxx.

The movie is as good as I hoped it would be. The first two acts play like a good crime thriller with act three hitting you like the mother of all Holy Craps. It's crazy intense. And in a good way.

I did have a small problem with Jennifer Garner, though. Through the whole movie she looked like she was confused as to how to use the gun in her hands. So I'm thinking to myself, "I know you know how to use that. I saw four seasons of Alias and you didn't have any problems with 'em then. Why now?" Actually, it's probably just great acting on her part with the character she was playing and I'm just sad and bitter there's no more Alias.

If you check this out, be sure to look at the bonus features. Like all graduates of American High Schools, I know nothing about Saudi Arabia and there's an informative timeline that steps you through that nation's history. It's fascinating. There's also another feature that let's you watch the third act from an uninterrupted viewpoint of each character. It's neat to see how it was filmed and what the editor had to work with as he pieced it all together. Cool stuff.

If you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed this one. If you haven't yet, be sure to check it out and keep the disc spinning for the bonus features.

Grade: A