As nearly every media outlet has been reporting, films about terrorism or the war have not done well at the box office. Maybe it's because most of the films are not very good, or maybe it's because these hot button topic films aren't exactly "entertaining." Afterall, a majority of people strictly see movies to enjoy themselves or to forget their everyday lives. It should come as no surprise then that of all the 2007 terrorism films, the action packed "The Kingdom" made the most money (around $47 million). Of course, the problem with "The Kingdom" is that IT IS the least provoking and intelligent of the war/terror films released last year.

The story: After a horrific terrorist attack at a Western compound, a group of 4 FBI agents are sent to Saudi Arabia to find out who is responsible and bring them to justice. Aside from a gut wrenching terrorist attack at the opening and an intense freeway chase and shootout at the end, "The Kingdom" is a wasted opportunity. Instead of exploring the topic of terrorism or Middle Eastern affairs, we see a lot of people with titles in uniforms/suits chatting, and lots of people waiting. In fact, the entire middle act is more or less a waiting game/build-up for the investigation and American/Terrorist showdown to take place. Granted, director Peter Berg does drive home the message about the never ending cycle of violence, but that doesn't make up for the flaws. In addition to the lack of a meaty script, Berg makes the mistake of relying on hand held camera. Sure, the hand held style works for shows like "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica," but it is not suited for film. I don't care if hand held cameras make the action seem real and gritty, this trend needs to die soon. I'm sure I'm not the only movie watcher who gets nauseous watching that stuff. An even bigger issue than the direction, is that Berg and writer Michael Matthew Carnahan never give us any characters to care about. He has an award winning cast (Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jamie Foxx, and Jeremy Piven) but they are all wasted in cliched American roles. The only standout here is first time actor Ashraf Barhom as the complex Colonel Faris.

The 2.35:1 widescreen picture quality on the HD DVD is generally sharp, but suffers from some odd color tones and grain. The same goes for the DVD version, only the PQ is obviously not as impressive as the HD copy. Both the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and the Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks were slightly disappointing. As "The Kingdom" is an action film, I expected a room shaking audio track, but it's actually fairly tame. Sure, the explosions, gunfire, background noises sound good, but they could have been better. Also, I think a TrueHD track should have been included as that is the preferred track for many audio enthusiasts.

DVD: * "White Noise 2" trailer and an HD DVD ad. * 3 deleted scenes which are basically extended scenes. * "Constructing The Freeway Sequence" (18:16) is an in depth look at the notable scene. We get a glimpse of behind the scenes rehearsals, animatics, interviews with cast and crew members, etc. * "Creating The Kingdom" is an 8 part featurette that looks at the explosions, combat training, realism, shooting in Abu Dhabi, and more. * "History Of The Kingdom: An Interactive Timeline" * "Character By Character: The Apartment Shootout" allows viewers to watch the scene from 4 different perspectives. * A rather sparse commentary track by director Peter Berg. He offers a few fun tidbits, but I can't recommend giving this a listen to. HD DVD: All of the extras included on the DVD are here in addition to: * Web-enabled features * "The Mission Dossier: Surveillance"- Watch 6 scenes side by side with both the animatics and the finished versions. * U-Control features: "The Mission Dossier" is a collection of pop up facts and "Picture In Picture" is another pop up featurette containing interviews, set footage, factual information, and lots of other goodies for extra junkies.

"The Kingdom" has a few intriguing moments, but it is by no means a deep film. It's more successful as an action thriller, but to be honest, you're better off watching a more satisfying action blockbuster like "Live Free Or Die Hard."