Baltimore Sun by Michael Sragow

Berg doesn't let up on the tension, even when the action is bloodless.

Empire by Helen O'Hara

Not quite as smart as it wants to be, and a better action movie than it is a political thriller, this is still a heart-pounding drama.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Overall, the film is smart and engaging, and if it plays a little on our fears of the next big terrorist attack, it does so without feeling exploitative.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

Matthew Michael Carnahan's caffeinated script isn't much concerned with balance, but it gets some anyway, from the resonant images of culture clash that Berg catches on the fly and a remarkable performance from Ashraf Barhom.

Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman

Director Peter Berg and first-time writer Matthew Michael Carnahan do a smooth, efficient job of storytelling most of the way.

Miami Herald by Connie Ogle

Though its violence is searing and brutal, the film, about four FBI agents investigating a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, shows a conscience and a brain, and if it explains things a bit simplistically at times, so much the better.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold

Foxx is magnetic in the lead, and the subplot in which he bonds with his Saudi police liaison (Ashraf Barhom, giving the movie's best performance) is touching.

Variety by John Anderson

A realist thriller that mixes crowd-pleasing mayhem with provocative politics.

Village Voice by J. Hoberman

A timely--if tepid--fantasy of American vengeance on the Qutbian extremists of Saudi Arabia.

New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein

Sensationally directed by Peter Berg, it’s a combination forensics detective movie (car bomb blows up secure American compound in Saudi Arabia--who dunnit and how can we stop him from doing it again?) and red-meat waste-the-terrorists action picture.