UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

merelyaninnuendo Three KingsThe sense of urgency is kept alive throughout the course of the feature with a hint of amusing sense present in each characters that resonates the most with practicality no matter how much peculiar and unpredictable it may go later. David O. Russell is as usual brilliant on his work and aces on handling such big stars on a screen in the most subtle possible way addition to the powerful script he co-wrote with John Ridley. Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney and Ice Cube (surprisingly he is good too) all of them are doing a great job supporting each other in this almost 2 hour journey and gives enough room to each other too. Three Kings had a great new and fresh concept that is well taken care of on script with keen sense of humor where the rest of it is left upon the performance objective which is satisfied utterly by the actors.

gottdeskinos Despite looking very realistic in the way Three Kings was shot, it is built on a stupid, unrealistic premise. During a ceasefire four American soldiers try to steal gold from Saddam's troops for their own profit. I went in this movie thinking it was as a dark comedy in a war setting and I could suspend my disbelief for some laughs. *SPOILERS*Indeed, it starts off as a slightly comedic action movie a la Bad Boys: US Soldiers pull a secret map out of a prisoner's bottom, they crack jokes, drive around in a HUMVEE listening to Beach Boys, shooting at footballs. A female reporter bangs a major to get a good story. But then there are brutal scenes like a mother getting shot in the head in front of her daughter. And a rather dramatic scene where the meaning and cruelties of war are debated, while a soldier is getting tortured. Not a comedy after all?You could say that Full Metal Jacket also started off with a partially humorous first half before turning darker in tone. Whereas Full Metal Jacket competently tells a story about characters, we are left here with four cardboard main characters that have stupid arcs. At first they went in because... who would say no to a lot of gold? And in the end they completely forget that they ever were employed by the army and they want to do what is right (so that the film can claim having a bit of heart).The weirdest thing is, that it has still quite some entertaining parts. They go rogue, march into freed villages, yell at people who don't speak English, while a soundtrack of jazz drumming is playing in the background and creating an atmosphere of chaos. But you never quite get rid of the feeling of "What's going on?" You will think: I just laughed a couple of minutes ago when they faked the arrival of Saddam Hussein's limo and now I'm watching a soldier's lung collapsing?The editing and usage of soundtrack was actually the most outstanding about the film.

Screen_Blitz The Persian Gulf War is the one of the least touched topics Hollywood has brought to the war genre, the war intended to bring down the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who was running domination over Kuwait. So there aren't a whole lot of films out there centering on the Gulf War, with 'Courage Under Fire' and Jarhead' to name a few. David O. Russell, however, dives deep into height of the Gulf War with this dark comedy set in 1991 during the aftermath. With the war reaching a stopping point, four soldiers: Major Archie Gates (played by George Clooney), Troy Barlow (played by Mark Wahlberg), Chief Elgin (played by Ice Cube), and Conrad Vig (played by Spike Jonze), are delusioned by the lack of action they face during active duty and are on their ways of retirement. This is until one day where they capture an Iraqi prisoner who has a secret map hidden where the sun don't shine. These four soldiers discover the map leads to a hidden gold stolen from Kuwait. They embark on a quest in search of the stolen gold inside the bunker of a base camp filled with Iraqi refugees, but witness a violent uprising by rebels sent by Saddam Hussein. The foursome must make a desperate decision to run off with the gold or save the refugees from the atrocity. This picture isn't your average, everyday war flick that shines the spotlight on the horrors of war and how its dehumanizing effects on soldiers, although there is plenty of combat and death. This film takes a lighthearted turn on portraying the Persian Gulf War, while conveying many liberties. What director David O. Russell makes of this war film is a dark comedy sprinkled with violence, surprising humor, and plenty of liberal political commentary. The plot sets in on the main characters' departure to the base camp where they quickly witness the sadistic rebellion of Iraqis associated with the cruel dictator who has Kuwait under his domination. Mothers, fathers, and children are seen suffering starvation, torture, and vicious beating that become eye sores to the main characters who develop the heart to push their mission aside and save help these poor victims from the atrocious acts. And these scenes lead to some thought-demanding political discussions, including a suggestion that the Iraqis were told by our government to rebel against Saddam Hussein. So the characters express anger against George H. Bush who was the president at the time of the setting that some viewers, particularly Bush fans could take offense to, but at the same time, it generates a bold and powerful political undertone with plenty of surprisingly funny dialogue thrown around as well as some intense, bloody gun fights between the characters and the rebels.The cinematography functions as a great aspect of the film. With the Casa Grande desert in Arizona serving as the backdrop for the Iraqi desert, the film features a oddly saturated picture with high contrast in the bright colors and dark colors to give the the film a look of a film reel lost in the desert. The camera-work really fits the themes of the plot and an inspiring aspect. The cast however, really steals the show here. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze give off some spectacular performances. Spike Jonze delights his presence with plenty of comic relief and probably delivers the most comedic lines out of the whole cast. These four actors are very convicted in their roles and demonstrate some great chemistry together. Nora Dunn who plays a journalist who is also an eye-catcher here and perhaps slightly underused. Three Kings is both a bold and spectacular experience sparkled with sheer violence and shocking humor along with a intensely talented cast who knocks the ball out of the park. This is honestly one of the most underrated films by a very talented director, and definitely doesn't quite get the attention it deserves. If you come across this film, this one may be a good pick.

Mr-Fusion "Three Kings" is all over the map - sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing action, war/heist movie - and that erratic behavior works in its favor, up to a point. I was onboard and entertained for the movie's first 45 minutes, but then the movie becomes a bit too top-heavy, mired in its anti-war message and the racial tensions. Basically, once Mark Wahlberg is captured, it just sort of slogs. It feels like it's flavored by "Apocalypse Now" (sure seems as long). There's an uplifting (Hollywood) ending that gives the movie back its step, but between those bookends when the gold's in our main characters' possession, it's not nearly as interesting.I get the feeling this would've been a lot more subversive had I seen it 15 years ago. That's on me.6/10