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Universal Studios Home Entertainment /2007 / 110 Minutes / Rated R 

Reviewed by Johnny McNair

The Kingdom deals with a very sensitive subject that many moviegoers may not want to think about when they head to the theater; centering around terrorism and the men and women who have to deal with the situation everyday in the Middle East. Even though it was hyped to be one of the more important films of the year, it was not well received at the box office and faded away quickly after its release.

For those who missed the theatrical run, The Kingdom is now available as a combo format (HD-DVD/DVD) disc by Universal home video. The Kingdom is a political thriller based on current real world events directed by Peter Berg, whose former film, Friday Night Lights was a major success; and includes a powerhouse cast featuring Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner from Alias, Chris Cooper, and a great supporting role by Jason Bateman from the TV show Arrested Development. They play a team of FBI officers who travel to Saudi Arabia to investigate the terrorist attack that occurred on a facility populated by Americans, which resulted in the death of a fellow agent.

The Movie

The Kingdom goes for realism and avoids the typical escapism action that is normally highlighted in films of this genre, doing it’s best to show you how war affects both sides, and in the end no one wins. What makes the film work is that as a viewer you are figuring out all the information and facts along with the investigators who are trying to piece together the puzzle of what really occurred during the attack, who is responsible, and why did it happen. Many of the shots are hand held, displaying that shaky-cam chaotic and tense style, giving you the sensation of what an American in the Middle East during a time of war must go through on a day-by-day basis.

The entire cast delivers strong performances, particularly Ashraf Barhom who plays Colonel Faris Al Ghazi, the only ally to the FBI team. Also, look for a cameo from Jeremy Piven, who seems to be playing a character that could be the older brother of Ari Gold of Entourage. And even though this film looks like it was shot on location in Saudi Arabi, you’ll be surprised to learn that a good portion of it was actually shot in Arizona.

Because it’s not following the formula of your basic action film with a shoot out or car chase occurring every fifteen minutes, some may find the film slow because it’s heavy on character development. But by the end of the film when the major action finale unfolds, you will understand why the filmmakers went in this direction. The Kingdom is not an “Us” vs. “Them” movie where you clearly know from the start who are the heroes and villains; but instead attempts to focus more on people and how they deal with the horrors of war. Anyone looking for a solid political thriller with good performances should give this film a try.

Video

The Kingdom has a very documentary-styled look, eliminated the gloss in preference for muted colors and tones. While this works to make the film’s dramatic aspect feel more realistic, it does diminish it as Hi-def material, because some scenes look washed out. Being that this is a combo HD DVD/DVD if you look at a scene in standard definition and then look at the same scene again in Hi-definition, with the exception of a sharper image, there really is not that much of a leap between the two versions. The film is presented in 1080p in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, with a mint transfer. Obviously, one of the best features about a new film is that the print is fresh and requires no touch-ups such as an older films from the 70’s, 80’s or 90’s would, so this is the best image quality that you can possibly get for this film. The Kingdom is not Hi-def show off material such as other Universal titles like King Kong and Hulk, but the picture quality is solid.

Audio

There is only a Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 track offered, so anyone who expected a full Dolby HD mixed track will be disappointed. Overall, the sound is good, but being that this is a dialogue heavy film, the only time the audio is cranked up is during the final action sequence where constant gunfire, explosions and Danny Elfman’s score take center stage to give your speakers a workout. The Kingdom’s sound is well done, fitting the tone of the film, but it will not stand out and scream in a crowd.

Bonus/Extra Content

For those of you who love the extra goodies, The Kingdom offers a huge buffet of features that will tell you everything you need to know about the film’s production.

First up is director Peter Berg’s audio commentary, which is a mixed bag because at times it’s very informative, particularly for the opening and finale sequences, but in the middle there is very little said, and whatever is discussed is not that interesting.

There are also 11 minutes of deleted scenes, which on the plus side is actually presented in HD and not just an SD workprint with the timecode running, as usually seen in most missing scene footage reels. But there is no audio commentary track to explain why the scenes were removed or shortened, which would have been a nice touch.

A half hour behind the scenes making of the movie “Creating the Kingdom” goes from the conception of the film through the production, and includes interviews with director Peter Berg and producer Michael Mann, as well as talks with the films stars Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman, who tell stories about training with guns, getting hurt on the set, and dealing with extreme weather and other typical production dilemmas.

There’s also a featurette that focuses on the movie’s freeway sequence, detailing the effort that went into setting it up and delivering a scene that while action packed, would still remain realistic. Most of this information was discussed in Creating the Kingdom, so with the exception of one or two things it could have all been included in one feature.

The U-Control feature is the shinning star of this disc. For those of you who are newbies to this technology, certain Universal films particularly the Jason Bourne trilogy, offers a picture-in-picture (PIP) option that when enabled an icon will pop up on the lower right screen of your TV, and when activated will display a small picture box showing you behind the scenes footage about a particular sequence. The U-Control feature in The Kingdom offers a Mission Dossier that displays notes and a timeline about the Middle East, including information on government relations and religion. But the showstopper occurs during the final shootout where via PIP you can watch the perspectives of the four different team members throughout the entire action sequence. This alone will make you very happy that you own this movie.

bottom line

The Kingdom is a solid movie that handles the subject matter of the current war in the Middle East in a realistic manner, but at the same time delivers an intense thriller with an action filled conclusion that rivals anything you’ve seen in the Tom Clancy based Jack Ryan films. In terms of HD material it will not stand up against the visuals of most HD DVD’s out there, but the image quality is sharp and smooth, and the extras, particularly the U-Control features are the icing on the cake. The Kingdom makes for a fine addition to your HD DVD library.

technical specs

-HD DVD/DVD Combo disc
-1080p Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
-Dolby Digital Plus 5.1

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 4.0

Video: 4.0

Sound: 3.5

Extras: 4.5

Bottom Line: 4.0