Three Kings

David O. Russell’s 1999 film, “Three Kings,” is one of the few feature-length U.S. films about the Gulf War. It stars George Clooney as Major Archie Gates, Mark Wahlberg as Sergeant First Class Troy Barlow, Ice Cube as Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin, and Spike Jones as Private First Class Conrad Vig. The four have found a secret map that leads to a stash of gold that Saddam Hussein stole from Kuwait, which they intend to steal to secure their lives outside the Army. They must evade Adrianna Cruz (Nora Dunn), a news correspondent who wants to break the story on the gold, as well as Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui), an Iraqi interrogator who wants to prevent them from capturing the gold. They also encounter Amir Abdullah (Cliff Curtis), a Shi’ite rebel taken prisoner by the Iraqis, whose family pleads with the soldiers not to forget their allies in the region.The film works to question the official history of the Gulf War and the carefully televised narrative, while also appearing to show support for U.S. intervention overseas. Much of Russell’s portrayal of conditions in Iraq and soldiers’ experiences became relevant only four years later, with this film receiving new attention in light of the 2003 Iraq War. In terms of content, style, and significance, Russell’s film is most comparable to Robert Altman’s 1970 film, “M*A*S*H*”. Russell worked to create a visual style that felt gritty, more lived-in, as well as capturing the look of news footage from the period. An internal shot resembles the type of visuals later used in “CSI” and similar forensic television shows. It’s worth re-watching for those looking to understand the cultural forces at work in the late-90s and early-2000s prior to the War on Terror.

Wahlberg & Clooney do no disappoint

Made what went down as a proper a$$ kicking of Sadam Hussein's troops into a frat party... the word "funny" must have a different meaning to the producers of this movie than myself.

I first saw this film in the theater in 1999. The film is set at the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. It begins as a caper film with large helpings of ironic humor, but turns serious at the end as the protagonists abandon their quest for Saddam's stolen Kuwaiti gold and focus instead on saving some villagers who are in danger of being murdered by Saddam's troops. Although I don't share George Clooney's politics in real life, I enjoy his screen performances and regard his appearance in a film as improving the likelihood I will enjoy it. Certainly in the case of Three Kings, Clooney didn't disappoint. He plays a likeable rogue, just weeks away from his discharge. He does not plan to return to civilian life without a nest egg. But events overtake him and his small group of like minded soldiers who spend considerable time arguing over whether Lexus makes a convertible coupe. This is not a standard war movie, though there are scenes where guns are fired in anger and people die. That said, it's not a heavy film and you will be very satisfied with the ending. I bought it because it's the kind of film one can see more than once and still enjoy. Also, the price is right.

THREE KINGS was filmed on-location, with the deserts of Arizona, California and Mexico standing in for remote areas of Iraq. David O. Russell, co-scripter/director of this Gulf War dramedy, cameos as a Hollywood action star that George Clooney strangles in the epilogue sequence. It's no big surprise that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein banned "Three Kings" in his country.Actors considered for the starring role of Archie Gates: Clint Eastwood, Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges and Nick Cage, who would've gotten the part if he wasn't already committed to appearing in Martin Scorsese's  BRINGING OUT THE DEAD  (1999).SYNOPSIS--Following a map pulled out of a captured Iraqi officer's butt, Maj. Archie Gates (Clooney) organizes a 4-man expedition to "liberate" Kuwaiti gold seized by Saddam prior to the Gulf War. When it's discovered that enemy troops are executing their own people, the four help refugee civilians and lose their millions in the process.Parenthetical number is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating.(7.3) Three Kings (USA/Australia-1999) - George Clooney/Mark Wahlberg/Ice Cube/Spike Jonze/Nora Dunn

THREE KINGS is not for everyone. And it's not easily pigeonholed. Fans of categorization will hate it. :)"What's it like?" they ask. You can't say it's a comedy, because plenty of people won't find it funny. Can you say it's a heist film? Only if you're narrow-minded. An action movie? Yeah, maybe, but this isn't comic book action here.Soldiers at the tail end of the Gulf War get a lead on a hidden stash of gold and decide to find it and take it home. What happens to them along the way changes their objectives and changes their lives in profound ways. Director David O Russell has crafted a movie that SEEMS to be aimless, changing directions with the wind, but is actually a movie with a certain destination, taking a more realistic approach to arrive there. A good example of this narrative philosophy is pointed out by Russell in his excellent and illuminating commentary track: in one scene Clooney is rushing pell-mell through an underground bunker and collides with another man rushing to get out. There's no "point" to it other than that these distracting things happen in real life all the time, just not usually in the movies.The DVD's price is good and it's PACKED with so many extras (all of them interesting and worthwhile, too) that it's hard to pass up THREE KINGS for purchasing. Very much recommended.If you found this review informative at all, please vote YES! Thanks.

Was really looking forward to watching this but within the first 15 minutes thought this was going to be hard work ---although it is a fairly recent event (first Iraq war) it now seems really dated baring in mind what has happened since.Its mixture of buddy comedy with violence has been done so many times much better .I think the good reviews were made before recent events have raised their ugly heads my copy goes to cex for £1.20 .

I had this movie in my wish list for purchase at a later date. I decided to rent it. I saved myself the cost of purchase. This movie was terrible. Halfway through I almost turned it off. I'm a fan of military movies but this was completely uninteresting. The milk truck scene? Totally stupid. Like other reviewers have said, rent before you buy.

Der Zweite Golfkrieg gilt mit der Unterzeichnung eines Waffenstillstandsabkommens als beendet. Die US-amerikanischen Reservisten Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg), Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) und Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze) sind im Irak im Einsatz und finden bei einer Durchsuchung eine Karte, die auf einen großen Schatz - vermutlich vom Irak in Kuwait erbeutetes Gold - hindeutet. Mit der Aussicht auf Reichtum machen sich die drei gemeinsam mit dem Special-Forces-Soldaten Archie Gates (George Clooney) auf in die Richtung, die die Karte ihnen weist. Das tun sie natürlich heimlich, denn genehmigt oder gar legal ist die ganze Sache nicht. Auf der Suche nach dem Schatz bekommen die Soldaten allerdings einen tieferen Einblick in den Krieg und seine Folgen, als ihnen lieb gewesen ist.Three Kings ist ein Film von David O. Russell (Regie, Drehbuch) und John Ridley (Drehbuch) aus dem Jahr 1999. Ein konkretes Genre kann man hier gar nicht benennen: Kriegsfilm, Satire und Drama geben sich die Klinke in die Hand. Es gibt die eine oder andere wirklich lustige Szene, in der nächsten aber bleibt einem das Lachen im Halse stecken. Zum Beispiel bekommt man deutlich mit, welches Leid die irakische Bevölkerung ertragen muss und welche falschen Hoffnungen manche von ihnen in ihre "Befreier" aus Amerika setzen. Denn eines ist klar: Der Krieg und/oder das US-Militär werden hier keineswegs glorifiziert. Dieser Genre-Mischmasch ist sicherlich nicht jedermanns Sache, ich finde ihn aber durchaus gelungen. Three Kings ist ein bisschen wie eine modernere und zynischere Version von Kelly's Heroes (Stoßtrupp Gold) aus dem Jahr 1970. Empfehlen kann ich übrigens beide Filme.

Ein gelungener Abendteuerfilm der in keiner Sammlung fehlen darf .Der Golfkrieg ist zu Ende, doch die Einheit um den knallharten Haudegen Archie Gates denkt noch nicht daran, nach Hause zu fahren - nicht ohne den sagenhaften Goldschatz, den die irakischen Invasoren während des Krieges aus Kuwait weggeschafft haben. Ein geheimnisvoller Lageplan soll die Truppe zu dessen Versteck führen, doch der Weg dorthin entwickelt sich zu einem hochexplosiven Abenteuer.

Netter Film für zwischendurch!