Three Kings (1999)

"We three kings be stealin' the gold."

It's 1991 and the Persian Gulf war is at an end. A cynical captain (played by George Clooney), two noncoms (Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg) and a nincompoop (Spike Jonz) are sent into the border zone to clean up.

Instead, they stumble across an enormous cache of gold bullion, all nicely laid out in heavy ingot bars. The gold is SUPPOSED to go straight back to Kuwait from where it was stolen, but . . .

No spoilers here, just to say this is a very entertaining and informative movie that touches on the wretchedness of war, the paranoia of not knowing who your political friends are, the weirdness of modern life (mini-spoiler -- at one point the Mark Wahlberg character, unable to radio his base, cell phones his wife to arrange for military reinforcements), and no small amount of welcome humor. Nora Dunn is particularly good in a tragi-comic role as a cable-news reporter unable to see beyond the lens of her next report.

This movie is significantly less preachy than SYRIANA or MICHAEL CLAYTON but it does make its points very well. Unless you are totally turned off by the idea of George Clooney in a war movie, I think you'll like THREE KINGS.

I should point out that this film premiered in 1999 and the DVD dates from 2001. Thus, it may LOOK as though the tail end of the Persian Gulf War as portrayed in this movie was meant to be a commentary on the current Iraqi commitment, but the film came out and was in DVD before the U.S. entered Iraq this time.

Also, as of now (6/2008), the regular DVD can be had for a very good price.

June 24, 2008

Surprisingly Good

I didn't expect much from this movie, but it turned out to be quite entertaining. It had a certain realism to it, and I like that, instead of the absurd storylines that are so frequent these days. July 6, 2007

Clever, funny and different

David O. Russel's 'Three Kings' is a hard film to lock down into a particular genre. It combines elements of a war movie, a comedy and a drama, and manages to do it very well. People wanting to see lots of big guns and bombs should stay well clear, there are video games to keep you amused. Anyone who appreciates witty, clever and slightly off beat films is well advised to see it.



Telling the untold story of the Gulf War, with Saddam's army more worried about shooting rebel Iraqis then allied soldiers, was a brave move in Hollywood, because many people don't want to know that a democratic uprising in Iraq was being crushed while the Allies sat by in the desert. Rather than being an action movie, the film develops into an exploration of three soldiers and the human development caused by their experience of the war, and the extraordinary circumstances they place themselves in.



Many innovative and experimental cinematic styles are used nicely, and solid performances are recorded by Clooney, Wahlberg, Jonze and Cube. The characters are portrayed as normal human beings, both noble and flawed at the same time, and even the Iraqi soldiers are seen as people rather than typical war movie bad guy cannon fodder. This film genuinely showed me the desperation felt by many Iraqis for the Allies to help them as they starved and fought desperately against Saddam.



One of my favorite films, and probably one of the most underrated films of its time

June 23, 2007

Don't like Clooney, what are you Looney?

Sorry about the title, Three kings was not a movie I chose to see on the big screen. My wife recommended it and I found it was an entertaining flick. Not a desert storm movie like Jar Heads, a different take on an old story line. May 13, 2007

Interesting Adventure film set In Iraq after Gulf War 1

A group of Gi's in Kuwait following the first Gulf War find a map on a prisoner that leads them back across the border on a gold hunt. The country is in a state of chaos with Sadam's soldiers taking their revenge on anti- Sadam citizens. The GI's get caught up in a more complicated situation with refugees then they planned on.
Well conceived and written with excellent special effects, this is a hard movie to categorize. It's sort of Oceans 11 goes to Iraq, A combination military adventure/heist movie with some interesting social commentary and moralizing thrown in.
All three of the principal actors do a good job but Ice Cube is particularly good in this. George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg are fine in their respective roles.
Definitely entertaining and different. April 9, 2007

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