"Weekly Standard" columnist John Podhoretz called the film "perfectly paced" and "remarkably crisp and satisfying", arguing that it evokes the films "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three", "Dog Day Afternoon", and "The New Centurions". "The New York Times" critic A. O. Scott called it "a slick, brutishly effective genre movie". He also stated that "Just as "" offered the fantasy do-over of the aftermath of the Vietnam War, "The Kingdom" can be seen as a wishful revisionist scenario for the American response to Islamic fundamentalist terrorism." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film three stars out of four, remarking "Fleury goes John Wayne on their ass." Evan Williams of "The Australian" called it "an excellent thriller" and stated that it "may be the first Hollywood film to confront Saudi involvement in international terrorism."