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entertaining u newspaper: your monthly guide to entertainment
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Good Luck Chuck
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by rick grant
rickgrant01@comcast.net
B+ Rated R 110 min.
After a small arms attack and truck bombing of the Air Force Barracks inside the American compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a crack team of FBI special investigators, led by FBI Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx), is sent to the scene. The team is advised to work closely with the resentful Saudi Police to track down the perpetrators.
Fleury’s team, played by Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, find out quickly that the Saudis are going to severely limit their investigative methods. In fact, the head detective, Saudi Police Captain Al-Ghazi (Astraf Barham), is tasked with the American agents’ safety. If they are harmed, he will be beheaded.
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The Saudi royal politics and strict protocol hamstring the investigators. To get to the truth, Fleury establishes a rapport with Al-Ghazi, trying to get him to ease the restrictions. Al-Ghazi is very protective of his job and the Saudi’s jurisdiction in the case. The bombing has embarrassed the Royal Family, and the Saudis are anxious to catch the bombers themselves.
After a frustrating few days, Fleury asks Al-Ghazi to get him an audience with a Western-minded prince to pave the way for his team and Al-Ghazi’s men to work together to catch the criminals responsible for this terrible act of terrorism. His strategy works. He tells the prince that he and his team are experts in counter-terrorism investigation and will help their Saudi colleagues catch the perpetrators. Fleury charms the Prince, who agrees to give them carte blanche but leaves the Saudi police in charge of the operation.
Directed by Peter Berg, written by Matthew Michael Carnahan and executive-produced by Michael Mann, Berg sets up a gritty desert mosaic with fast action pacing and nerve wracking suspense as the American team faces uncertain danger outside the compound. Foxx is riveting as the confident American team honcho Fleury, who tries to ease tensions between his men and the Saudi police, some of whom could be working with the jihadists. These extremely hostile conditions test the endurance and resolve of the team as the jihadists plan to kill the American team of infidels in a brazen attack on their convoy.
Jennifer Garner is in familiar territory as a Special FBI Agent. Her character finds working in the male dominated country frustrating. The Saudi police resent her presence, and as a female, she is forbidden to visit the prince. But she does her job as a hard-nosed investigator and pathologist trying to find the truth.
Soon, Al-Ghazi and Fleury’s team work well together, respecting each other’s abilities. They find evidence at the apartment building that overlooks the bombing site that this was the headquarters of the jihadists who masterminded the attack. But finding the actual criminals will not be easy. They are protected by most of the population of Riyadh, who consider the American presence in the Kingdom blasphemy. Soon, all hell breaks loose at the apartment building. The team comes under heavy attack by automatic weapons fire and RPGs. The team fights back with equal intensity. These action scenes are skillfully shot using many cameras for fast action editing. For viewers, this furious action creates elevated adrenaline levels and high excitement.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
