Le Royaume

Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) leads an FBI team to investigate an attack on an American base in Saudi Arabia. The team is played by Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman.

Peter Berg has made a simple police procedural. There isn't anything too complicated or twisty. The bad guys are bad. The good guys get their men. The locations are well used. It has the feel of the middle east. Obviously nobody could ever film in Saudi Arabia, but it has good use of UAE.

What he does give us is an insight into the this world. It's a world where Americans do not blend, and the natives are suspicious. The action is fast and furious. It's something that Berg has become proficient in. Yet the action isn't so big that it becomes cartoonish. It is exciting to the final conclusion. It's simplicity is both its strength and its weakness. I can't really complain about its clarity, but it does make it feel more pedestrian.

This movie would be a 9 if it weren't for the shaky camera crap. Why do filmmakers think it's cool to do this? I felt nauseous the whole movie. It's ridiculous.

I had the opportunity to view this film a couple of months ago and I almost declined the offer thinking it would be another boring movie about terrorism in the middle east. I'm glad I didn't decline. This film got me hooked from the get go and kept me hook up until the credits. Not a an epic movie by any means but it sure is very entertaining and packed full of action. LOTS OF IT. I know for most action movies, plots and storyline are very weak. I'm not trying to say the story was bad, far from it. The story line was actually very good with strong dialogue and an amazing quote towards the end that really gets you thinking. No spoilers here, just go watch it when it comes out. You won't be disappointed.

I went into this movie hoping it wouldn't be a cheap shot at either the US Government or the people in the Middle East and I wasn't disappointed. The introduction that outlines the history between Saudi Arabia and the United States alone proves as much: no matter how intense that action was (and it was very much so), the movie itself was a fairly level-headed look at the current situation. You are drawn into the action from the very beginning, but from there it does not sink into an FBI team shooting up Saudis. There is actually an INVESTIGATION, with political interests in the background all the while. An excellent action movie with more than a little thought put into it, but not for the faint of heart.

I saw an advanced screening of this movie. The movie is exciting, informative and moving. Just enough action to keep your heart pumping and a great story - I became involved. This movie will show you a slice of life in Saudi Arabia. The characters are real and the struggle to get to the truth is real. The interplay between the Americans and the Saudi troops really shows the differences in our cultures while also showing how police are police and just want the truth no matter where they come from. This movie shows how we should be able to get along if we put religion to one side, but how in the end it is our parents hatred and fear of anything different becomes our own hatred and fear while not knowing the why of it. Hate perpetuates hate and in the end we all suffer.