When a terrorist bomb detonates inside a Western housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an international incident is ignited. While diplomats slowly debate equations of territorialism, FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) quickly assembles an elite team (Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) and negotiates a secret five-day trip into Saudi Arabia to locate the madman behind the bombing. Upon landing in the desert kingdom, however, Fleury and his team discover Saudi authorities suspicious and unwelcoming of American interlopers into what they consider a local matter. Hamstrung by protocol—and with the clock ticking on their five days—the FBI agents find their expertise worthless without the trust of their Saudi counterparts, who want to locate the terrorist in their homeland on their own terms. Fleury’s crew finds a like-minded partner in Saudi Colonel Al-Ghazi (Ashraf Barhoum), who helps them navigate royal politics and unlock the secrets of the crime scene and the workings of an extremist cell bent on further destruction.
This movie was amazing! The direction was perfect as the level of tension was so high from the first scene that you don't look at your watch once and manage to fight off any urge to go to the bathroom or get a soda refill. The acting performances were phenomenal. Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper (still the most underrated actor in Hollywood) were great as always. Jennifer Garner was surprisingly unannoying and Jason Bateman was hysterical. I am so glad to see Bateman back in mainstream acting again. I never understood how he fell off the face of the planet for a couple of years because he has always had some of the most perfect sarcasm delivery. They were all so well developed, even the Saudi Arabian cop, that you find yourself truly caring what happens to them. On top of all this - the movie really makes you think and could go a long way towards opening people's eyes to what really is going on over there and erasing some of that "kill them all" mentality.
I couldn't possibly recommend this movie more. It is a definite must see and will certainly end up as one of my top ten movies of 2007.
