THE KINGDOM (Rated R)

A provocative, gripping action thriller, “The Kingdom” is a smart film that knows how to draw intrigue from the international political backdrop without dwelling so heavily on the politics as to polarize an audience into conflicting views. However, Saudi Arabians may have some objections, but that’s another matter.

First and foremost, we should easily agree that “The Kingdom” is a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-fueled adventure intent on delivering thrills to keep action junkies on the edge of their seats. That this film succeeds on this score is a testimonial to director Peter Berg’s knack for working with some challenging material.

While the opening credits roll, there’s an outline of Saudi Arabia’s history over the past 70 years for its geopolitical significance as the world’s leading oil producer. And this historical thumbnail sketch touches on the Middle Eastern kingdom’s tenuous relationship with the United States. The story is geared to the uneasy feeling that is spawned by the fact that Saudi Arabia is the country of origin for most of the 9/11 hijackers. You can well imagine the prickly political situation when Americans are killed on Saudi soil.

The film opens with a leisurely afternoon of picnics and softball on the grounds of a Riyadh housing compound for American oil company employees and their families. What is supposed to be a heavily-guarded safe haven is turned into a horrific shooting gallery when suicide bombers disguised as policemen slaughter the innocents with machine gun fire and a massive bomb explosion. More than one hundred people are slaughtered, including two FBI agents with close friends back at headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Bureaucrats quibble over international protocols and diplomatic overtures, and it is entertaining to see tough FBI director James Grace (Richard Jenkins) butting heads with the weak-kneed, condescending Attorney General (Danny Huston) who seems more concerned about placating State Department than helping his agents.

Given the green light from his boss, Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) assembles his crack FBI team anxious to get its feet on the ground in the Saudi kingdom. Fleury exerts some pressure on the Saudi ambassador, and soon enough a secret five-day trip into Saudi Arabia is negotiated and arranged. Eager to locate the madmen behind the attacks, the FBI team includes explosives expert Grant Sykes (Chris Cooper), forensics examiner Janet Mayes (Jennifer Garner) and intelligence analyst Adam Leavitt (Jason Bateman).

The clash of cultures is evident immediately upon arrival in the desert kingdom, when Fleury and his crew discover Saudi authorities suspicious and unwelcoming of American interlopers into what is considered a local matter. Hamstrung by protocol, and confined at first to the compound’s gymnasium, the FBI agents find their expertise worthless without the trust of their Saudi counterparts, who would prefer to find the terrorists on their own terms, even though they seem rather incompetent in handling the crime scene to locate important clues. To make matters even more complicated, they find smarmy State Department official Damon Schmidt (Jeremy Piven) anxious to see them back on a plane to the States.

With the clocking ticking on the FBI’s allotted days on foreign soil, Fleury finds a like-minded partner in his team’s handler, Saudi police colonel Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), who is assigned to protect the visiting Americans, but soon helps the FBI crew to navigate royal politics.

Since Fleury is less than concerned about ruffling diplomatic feathers, he presses a Saudi prince for better access to the crime scene and to get more cooperation for his investigation. Then comes the big payoff, as the action ratchets up to a full-blown showdown with an extremist cell that is actively working to detonate another explosion and takes a hostage for what is almost certain a replay of the Danny Pearl abduction and beheading.

“The Kingdom” achieves its explosive adrenaline rush with stunning car chases and gunfire that are the result of impressive stunt work brilliantly captured on the film reels. The assault on a terrorist safe house in a hostile neighborhood is flat-out furious action that makes even a “Rambo” movie seem tame in comparison. What “The Kingdom” does so well is to keep tension heightened at all times, even when it’s during the talkative phases of bureaucratic or diplomatic wrangling.

Tim Riley writes television and film reviews for Lake County News.

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