Score: 6 / 10

I am quite partial to Jason Bateman and Jeremy Piven; however, I was not so big on their newest collaboration, “The Kingdom.”

Before I begin this review, let me state that I love America, I support our troops and I even thought “Ray” (with Jamie Foxx) was a pretty good movie.

There are some people out there who are going to love “The Kingdom.” While I do not necessarily agree with them, I can see why they would.

Before I saw this movie, it looked to have all the signs of a propaganda film. I imagined a movie where the heroic American guy fights terrorism with a Middle Eastern cop, and that is exactly what it was. Still, I did not end up insulted like I felt I would.

Before I sat in the theater, I was totally aware that the film was going to be heavily emotional, and it was. Relying on old standbys, like characters with dead children and the possibility of an endless struggle with terrorism, this film boasted the stereotypes. I really got the feeling throughout this movie that everyone involved knew that terrorists and terrorism is something too big to be tackled by a bunch of semi-decent actors.

On the other hand, Jason Bateman is awesome, even though I spent half the movie considering why Ray Charles/Ronald Fleury/Jamie Foxx and Elektra/Janet Mayes/Jennifer Garner were overseas, risking their lives, trying to save Michael Bluth/Adam Leavitt/Jason Bateman. The movie also has a decent amount of action scenes, but overall I felt the slow pace did not work to the film’s advantage.

I did not mind that I went to go see this film. Still, it did have some flaws that prevented it from being an “emotional roller coaster,” or whatever they’re calling action movies these days.

So, if you really like Jamie Foxx, or if you want to prove to your date that you hate terrorism, take him/her to “The Kingdom;” it probably has what you need. And if you do go see it, beware: This film was designed to toy with your emotions.