The United States

In a residential complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, hundreds of expats live and work—including a fair number of Americans. Their quiet routine is shattered by a brutal terrorist attack that leaves numerous civilians dead and sparks an international crisis. To handle the fallout, the FBI assembles a specialized counter-terrorism unit led by the seasoned Ronald Fleury, whose sole mission is to track down those responsible.
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I was expecting total garbage, but this actually turned out to be a really great film... 👍

I was expecting a non-stop adrenaline rush, but honestly, the movie turned out to be really high quality.

Definitely worth a watch! 👍

Yeah, look, there aren't a ton of action sequences—it’s not some non-stop explosion fest—but when they do happen, they’re executed perfectly. 🙏

Joshua Jones97 said:I was expecting total garbage, but it actually turned out to be a great movie. 👍

Why would you expect garbage, for crying out loud?😕 I mean, Jamie Foxx and Michael Mann are right there on the poster. Honestly, I doubt he even directed this one solo.

Personally, I was hoping for something along the lines of Syriana—something smart, not mindless or boring. And maybe a little more action. 😁

It's a good film.👍

Zachary Thompson2 said:What on earth went wrong?😕 Jamie Foxx and Michael Mann are both credited on the poster. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that director handled the whole thing solo.

What are you talking about? It's Michael Mann, man.

Zachary Thompson2 said:I was hoping for something along the lines of Syriana, but without all that mindless, boring fluff. And, honestly, I wanted some actual action. 😁

As long as there's plenty of action, I'm happy. Can't complain about that.
Syriana is an excellent film, too.

redowl90 said:What do you mean "Michael Mann"? Come on!

Michael Mann .... producer

You can't deny the influence here. You can actually feel that signature Mann style bleeding into the movie. I’m not saying he directed it, but his fingerprints are all over the vibe.

redowl90 said:Sure, as long as there's gunfights, right? Typical.
Syriana is an excellent film, too.

So what if there's shooting? I know it was meant as a joke, but why does having action make a movie "lesser" than a drama? People always use that to dismiss someone else's opinion. :/😁

Personally, I found Syriana totally impenetrable. It took me half the movie just to figure out who was working for whom, and even then, it didn't really stick with me. There was way too much stylistic fluff and unnecessary complexity; they could have told that story much more elegantly.

Zachary Thompson2 said:What's wrong with action movies? I mean, it was a joke, but why should a high-quality action flick (where people actually shoot things 😁) be considered any less than a solid drama or any other genre? People always seem to use that as an excuse to dismiss someone else's opinion. :/

A good action movie doesn't have to be inferior to a drama, but let's face it—truly great action films are incredibly rare these days. Really rare. Honestly, aside from The United States (if you can even call it that), it's hard to think of another decent action movie released this year. Okay, fine—I did find Transformers pretty entertaining.

Zachary Thompson2 said:Syriana was just totally inaccessible for me. It took half the movie before I even figured out who was who, and even then, it didn't really stick with me. It felt overstyled and overly convoluted; they could have handled it much more elegantly.

I can definitely agree with you there—the movie is pretty complicated. That said, I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to political themes in cinema, so please forgive my positive take on it. 🙂

Zachary Thompson2 said:Why on earth is it crap?😕

Because I was fully expecting the usual mindless Hollywood action flick—which, thank goodness, turned out not to be the case...🙂

Joshua Jones97 said:mainly because I was bracing myself for another mindless Hollywood action flick, which—thankfully—turned out not to be the case. 🙂

I'm with you on that.

Zachary Thompson2 said:Honestly, I found *Syriana* pretty much impossible to follow. It took me basically half the movie just to figure out who was actually working for whom, and even then, the ending didn't really leave me feeling anything. There was way too much stylistic fluff and unnecessary complexity; they could have definitely handled the whole thing with a lot more grace.

I honestly think that was the whole point of the movie—that this "conflict" isn't some black-and-white, easy-to-digest situation.

There were some pretty hilarious little details, too—like how those guys basically shoved a rocket straight into the hull of the ship, which would’ve blown the whole thing to kingdom come if they'd actually tried to fire it. Or that convoy ambush that looked like it was pulled off by a goddamn clone.

...I honestly think the whole point of this flick is just to rake in some cash... and hey, there's never any harm in giving the State Department a little extra PR boost as the absolute "peak" of democracy...

...that one scene where they're getting shot at from every single direction is particularly "high quality." But nope—you've got one Black guy (probably trained on an African safari), a lady (definitely looks like Clarice from Silence of the Lambs, though the director keeps it hush-hush), and some old man digging through sewers acting like he's some forensic genius. Then you've got that supposedly "benevolent" little teddy bear of a guy from the Middle East. All of them together somehow tanking automatic gunfire, grenades, and flamethrowers while managing to take out a dozen "bad guys"... man, for a split second, I actually thought I was watching Ramb...

...p.s....it's also worth noting how that same "good ol' boy" from Saudi Arabia played his part perfectly in the fight against terrorism...

...that moment where the Black guy yells "you got him, you got him" would have been some top-tier historical irony if it were an American Indian instead of a guy from Saudi Arabia, and the "Wild Wild West" instead of the "Kingdom." Of course, they caught the big white guy... but even like this, the point remains the same...

Asia Times online: "a pseudo-realist action movie that succeeds only if we degrade ourselves to adolescent Americans' perception of world affairs" and "non-stop nonsense from beginning to end." ...Man, if I were some big-shot film critic, I’d probably sum it up just as perfectly... but hey, at the end of the day, it all boils down to the same thing...

goldensailor15 said:...I think the whole point of this movie is just to make a quick buck...

I can't stop laughing reading this.
Isn't making money pretty much the entire point of most movies these days?

You're hilarious.

redowl90 said:I’m reading this and honestly, I can’t stop laughing.
Isn't the whole point of most movies nowadays just to chase a quick buck?

You're being ridiculous.

...🙂...you totally missed the mark, man...I was specifically talking about the bolded part...try to be a little more flexible with how you read things...otherwise, you're the one looking foolish...🙂...

I should probably mention that I actually found myself laughing out loud at a few parts, mostly because they felt so incredibly genuine... you just don't see that kind of naturalism in movies very often these days...

...and honestly, was I the only one who kept getting Jean Reno vibes from that one guy while watching the film?

Michael Mann stands out to me as one of the most exceptional filmmakers working today. His craftsmanship is truly top-tier, particularly when you look at how he constructs his action sequences and firefights; they are just 🙏

Jamie Wood5 said:I think Michael Mann is one of the best directors working today. His films are masterfully crafted, especially those intense action sequences and firefights. 🙏

Actually, this film was directed by Peter Berg. ☕

I just went ahead and dropped a perfect 10 on IMDB for this one, and believe me when I say that rating carries some serious weight since I haven’t actually registered on the site or cast a single vote until this very moment. The impact this film had on me was just so overwhelming that I felt compelled to actually sit down and write something about it, even though I rarely ever bother with these kinds of posts...
You absolutely have to check out 👍

David Price5 said:the film was directed by Peter Berg ☕

Look, buddy, ☕I know exactly what I’m talking about. That's why I used terms like filmmaker, director, or producer—wherever it made sense to mention them.

Jamie Wood5 said:I hear you, man. ☕That’s why I specifically used terms like filmmaker, director, or producer whenever they came up.

I just finished watching the movie myself. To be honest, those shootout scenes felt a bit forced.👍