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The Kingdom

Let the carnage begin!

By PETER KEOUGH | September 26, 2007

2.0 Stars

THE KINGDOM: Revenge is sweet, and codas are hypocritical.

Revenge has taken over the screen lately. Since it’s cool for Jodie Foster to turn vigilante in tamed-down New York City, shouldn’t we kick some ass in the country that contributed most of the 9/11 hijackers? In The Kingdom, a bin Laden–ish jihad outfit has massacred a hundred Americans in Saudi Arabia, among them an FBI agent. His pals (Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, et al.) want payback, so they finesse the red tape and head for Riyadh, where they must work with a Saudi counterpart (a terrific Ashraf Barhom). He’s by-the-book, but he sees the light and sidesteps the obstructionism of his compromised superiors. So let the carnage begin! Soon the Saudi body count has exceeded the American, and by the time agent Mayes (Jennifer Garner) has her way with a commando knife, revenge is sweet. Or is it? Director Peter Berg tacks on a hypocritical coda, but you know his heart is in the mayhem.

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