You know what they say, sometimes you go splode, and sometimes you make other guy go splode. This movie is about a very big splosion – at a softball game played in, of all places, frickin’ Saudi Arabia. So yeah maybe asking for it? Short answer: no they weren’t. And when a high achiever FBI guy manages to finagle his way into the country, progress is made on tracking down the murdering thugs that perpetrated the killing.
This film is grim, extremely violent, and has a surprising message about where all this terrorism has ‘suddenly’ come from. (Well, perhaps not surprising for non-Americans, and sadly odds on that any American audience members that didn’t already have some idea about the history of the middle east, and just where all these complete insane murderous Islamic extremists sprang up from, will grin dumbly at all the loud noises and flashing lights as the actual message flys directly overhead.)
All that said, it is clearly a blockbuster style of movie, so very easy to enjoy as nothing more than an action movie. Be warned that it does suffer a bit from shaken-camera-syndrome, which is just so damn prevalent these days – it works well to convey a particlar feel to a scene, so I don’t blame the filmmakers. But.
Jamie Foxx puts in a fine performance as the lead FBI guy, as does Ashraf Barhoum his Saudi police officer. Surprise, surprise, but Jennifer Garner looks like she’s going to break into tears the whole time, what is it with that girl’s face?
If you don’t mind your entertainment to include a few dead children or hot women with asploded legs, I think you’ll probably like it a great deal. I know I was surprised by how good I found it to be. So let’s just say ‘recommended’ shall we?