Keys to 'The Kingdom' II

Oooo, baby... The early reviews for Peter Berg's The Kingdom are rolling in, and I like what I see.

Emanuel Levy writes:

"...Some critics may have reservations about the movie's gung-ho politics and its pro-American slant in both text and subtext. However, with the right marketing and handling "The Kingdom" should become the first bona fide hit of the fall season, and more significantly, the first 9/11 movie that's a commercial hit, embraced by the large populace regardless of specific political orientations..."

Did he say "gung-ho" and "pro-American"???

Next, from CinemaBlend:

"...This movie is real and the brutal terrorist attack you’ve just witnessed is something that could happen tomorrow, or might even be happening right now. ... We follow an FBI team trying to hunt down the types of terrorists responsible for attacks like the one those brave [United 93] victims suffered."

Oh but it gets better.

"...Steering clear of hot-button religious or political issues, "The Kingdom" instead centers on a wild bunch of pros trying to do their best to battle violence—-and in the process make the world a better place to live. As such, it encourages the audience to root for the triumph of good over evil, which explains why at the end of the screening there was enthusiastic applause. But "The Kingdom" does have a political agenda, evident in verbal and non-verbal scenes, suggesting that only Americans can do the job well, quickly, and effectively."

Audiences cheering? For the good guys? Americans???

"These chauvinistic elements about the vigor the American military institution, the American know-how, may prove problematic for some viewers..."

Not me.

"...The messages are stated explicitly in several agit-prop speeches, where Fleury says: "Let us teach you how we Americans can help resolve your problems." The movie implies that Saudi Arabia, and by extension other foreign countries, of both the First World and Third World, are not strong, rational, and skillful enough to fight terrorism."

Preach it, brother!

More evidence, from from CHUD:

"...The small team of FBI agents [is depicted] trying to do the best investigative work possible to capture the monsters responsible for killing hundreds of Americans. ...

[Foxx's] Fleury, a good father and good agent who won’t settle for the obstructionist bulls---t the Saudis throw at him. Chris Cooper remains the most reliable character actor in Hollywood, and he’s completely believable whether dispensing homespun Southern wisdom or aerating bad guys with an automatic weapon."

I now have goosebumps. More CHUD:

"...I want a film that will make me sit on the edge of my seat, applaud some righteous ass-kicking and send me home mulling deeper thoughts. God bless Peter Berg, Matthew Carnahan and Universal for giving me exactly that."

And -- this is fun for a change, isn't it, folks? -- from Deep-Focus.com's review:

"...It's that type of movie -- the protagonists have got it going on in every possible way ... The only real help our white-hatted heroes get from the locals comes when the police colonel assigned to protect them (Ashraf Barhom) -- perhaps sick of Foxx's condescension -- suddenly takes an active interest in catching the culprits. ...

"...the body count is spectacularly high, and everyone in a thobe, it seems, is fair game. It may be a bad neighborhood, but is everyone in sight really culpable in mass murder? Mostly, Berg and Carnahan ignore the question."

At last. Somebody in town gets it. Could this be the movie we've been waiting for?

For further evidence this is going to be fun, check out the more obviously liberal aspects of some of these reviews at the link above. (The openly liberal reviewers don't like it at all.)

"...The last scene depicts Fleury consoling a Saudi Arabian boy ... in the patronizing manner that John Wayne used to behave in his war pictures with Filipino boys during WWII and then Vietnamese kids in his Vietnam action flicks ("Back to Bataan," "Green Berets")."

To recap: Gung-ho...pro-American...third world sucks...righteous ass-kicking...John Wayne.

Case closed. This is gonna be good.

Now excuse me while I click over and enjoy the trailer again.