"New York Post" critic Lou Lumenick stated that "Hollywood provides the Islamic world another reason to hate America with "The Kingdom"," calling it "xenophobic" and "pandering." "The A.V. Club"s Scott Tobias gave the movie a C, criticizing the movie's "queasy brand of escapism" by offering the audience the pleasure of "inning imaginary wars" and giving an idealized portrayal of the efficiency of American intelligence. He says the film appeals to the audience's "basest instincts" and that, despite one sympathetic Arab character, the film could be tarred as racist. Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" accused the film of "treating its audience like cash-dispensing machines". Kenneth Turan of "The Los Angeles Times" called it "a slick excuse for efficient mayhem that's not half as smart as it would like to be." He added that "the film's thematic similarity to those jingoistic World War II-era 'Yellow Peril' films makes it hard not to feel your humanity being diminished."