THE KINGDOM

Peter Berg's last movie was the hugely entertaining and extremely passionate FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. The style and talent he showed in making that film are quickly displayed during the 10 minute opoening credits for THE KINGDOM (those opening credits are fabulous and worth a look on youtube). Unfortunately for Berg the script and casting do him no favors this time. The movie opens with brutal force...but never lives up to its first thirty minutes. Speaking of bad casting - I gotta say that Jaime Foxx, Jannifer Garner, and Jason Bateman look silly as the three specialists sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terrorist attack. THE KINGDOM is entertaining, and worth a rental, and I loved the film's final scene and line of dialogue...but in that final line lies the lost hope that a film of great impact was lost somewhere in the previous two hours. 2 1/2 of 5 hs