A suicide attack on an American civilian camp in Saudi Arabia is only the precursor to a much large attack on the response units. The Saudi's manage to convince the State Department that a formal US response would only make things worse for them but Agent Ronald Fleury pulls some strings behind the scenes to get himself flown in with a small team. On arrival the political nature of their presence is immediately obvious and the team find themselves in the middle of a strange world where the West is accepted by some but fiercely hated by others.
There is no denying the power of the opening ten minutes of this film. We see suicide bombings daily on the news to the point where the numbers don't seem to hurt anymore but to see the carnage simulated here is disturbing and quite upsetting. However this unsettled me because I was also aware that I was watching an action movie and that I was watching civilians of all ages being murdered for my entertainment. If I overlook my issue with this for the time being I will give the film its due because, when it moves, it moves quickly and efficiently. The final twenty minutes are indeed gripping and exciting and does get the pulse going. Problem is, before then, we are not given a huge amount to be engaged with; OK it does enough to move the film along as a thriller but nothing more than that.
This was my main issue with the film, it at once wants to be an exciting thriller but it also uses the very real carnage and unrest in the Middle East to do it and it wants to say something about that at the same time. In this regard it doesn't really do much. The final scene that parallels US and them is too little too late and would only have been a clever conclusion if it had been something that had been written into the script. I did hope for more because, although very simplistic, the opening credits did a solid potted summary of the political background and the importance of oil in the area but this was not sustained or built on. Instead the material doesn't have the intelligence and commentary value that it clearly wants to and Berg can only really hint at more.
The cast hold back their performances a bit because I guess they know that it is not just a balls-out action movie but one of relevance. Foxx leads the cast well enough when it comes to being a physical presence but otherwise he just speaks softly to convey menace not great but serviceable. Garner is so-so at best, not someone I look to for performances and indeed she doesn't deliver a great deal here. Cooper is OK but I felt that Bateman was out of place and perhaps miscast in his role as well as being the most obvious candidate for something bad happening to him. Barhom was good and worked well with all the A-listers around him. Chlander, Jenkins and Huston were OK faces to add into the mix but Jeremy Piven's turn was just too silly to really fit, it would not have been a big step to have him offering to "hug it out" with the Prince.
Overall then, this is a perfectly serviceable thriller that at times is exciting and gripping. However the attempts at meaning and depth mostly misfire even if the odd touch showed the potential. It is too complex and quickly the film goes for the easy targets of slick action and thrills, shunning the content. The result is an enjoyable film of "CSI: Middle East" but without anything else going on I did find the use of very real issues to be a touch insensitive and a bit difficult to relax into.
There is no denying the power of the opening ten minutes of this film. We see suicide bombings daily on the news to the point where the numbers don't seem to hurt anymore but to see the carnage simulated here is disturbing and quite upsetting. However this unsettled me because I was also aware that I was watching an action movie and that I was watching civilians of all ages being murdered for my entertainment. If I overlook my issue with this for the time being I will give the film its due because, when it moves, it moves quickly and efficiently. The final twenty minutes are indeed gripping and exciting and does get the pulse going. Problem is, before then, we are not given a huge amount to be engaged with; OK it does enough to move the film along as a thriller but nothing more than that.
This was my main issue with the film, it at once wants to be an exciting thriller but it also uses the very real carnage and unrest in the Middle East to do it and it wants to say something about that at the same time. In this regard it doesn't really do much. The final scene that parallels US and them is too little too late and would only have been a clever conclusion if it had been something that had been written into the script. I did hope for more because, although very simplistic, the opening credits did a solid potted summary of the political background and the importance of oil in the area but this was not sustained or built on. Instead the material doesn't have the intelligence and commentary value that it clearly wants to and Berg can only really hint at more.
The cast hold back their performances a bit because I guess they know that it is not just a balls-out action movie but one of relevance. Foxx leads the cast well enough when it comes to being a physical presence but otherwise he just speaks softly to convey menace not great but serviceable. Garner is so-so at best, not someone I look to for performances and indeed she doesn't deliver a great deal here. Cooper is OK but I felt that Bateman was out of place and perhaps miscast in his role as well as being the most obvious candidate for something bad happening to him. Barhom was good and worked well with all the A-listers around him. Chlander, Jenkins and Huston were OK faces to add into the mix but Jeremy Piven's turn was just too silly to really fit, it would not have been a big step to have him offering to "hug it out" with the Prince.
Overall then, this is a perfectly serviceable thriller that at times is exciting and gripping. However the attempts at meaning and depth mostly misfire even if the odd touch showed the potential. It is too complex and quickly the film goes for the easy targets of slick action and thrills, shunning the content. The result is an enjoyable film of "CSI: Middle East" but without anything else going on I did find the use of very real issues to be a touch insensitive and a bit difficult to relax into.