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Three Kings

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Three Kings (1999)

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Reviews Counted:126

Fresh:118

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7.8/10

Consensus: Three Kings successfully blends elements of action, drama, and comedy into a thoughtful, exciting movie on the Gulf War.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: March, 1991, the Iraqi desert. Special Forces Captain Archie Gates (GEORGE CLOONEY), U.S. Army Sergeant Troy Barlow (MARK WAHLBERG), Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin (ICE CUBE) and Private Conrad Vig... March, 1991, the Iraqi desert. Special Forces Captain Archie Gates (GEORGE CLOONEY), U.S. Army Sergeant Troy Barlow (MARK WAHLBERG), Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin (ICE CUBE) and Private Conrad Vig (SPIKE JONZE) have spent weeks marking time in base camp while the Persian Gulf war is fought by high-tech specialists. The impersonality of the war has left the men bored and disoriented and, now that the cease-fire has become official, they’re looking forward to leaving this bleak landscape behind.

Archie Gates is a career soldier, a Green Beret who’s proven his bravery and intelligence in conflicts around the globe, but his experiences have left him cynical, detached and unwilling to take orders from those less seasoned than he is. He’s ready to leave the Army behind, but the undefined civilian existence ahead of him holds only marginally more appeal.

Troy Barlow is young, capable, sincere, and homesick for his wife and baby daughter back in Detroit. An Army Reserve soldier, he believes in the job he was sent to do and he’s proud to be doing it for America.

Chief Elgin is a baggage handler at Detroit Airport when he’s not on active duty. His civilian life offers him little, as does his military life, but his firm Christian beliefs and his stoic commitment to his responsibilities earn him respect.

Conrad Vig is a redneck who never finished high school. For him, the Army offers a chance to live out adventures he’ll embellish back home; he has little understanding of the political implications of the conflict in Iraq, or of the consequences of war. Being out of his element has stimulated Vig to the point where his naivete and excitement are on the verge of becoming an explosive combination.

The soldiers’ lives are complicated by the constant, intrusive presence of television war correspondents, especially the hard-bitten Adriana Cruz (NORA DUNN), who badgers Army personnel incessantly for exclusive information.

As the Americans prepare to dismantle their base camp and return home, Troy, Chief and Conrad unexpectedly come into possession of a map that indicates the location of a stash of Kuwaiti gold bullion stolen by the Iraqi army.

While they puzzle over the map and what it implies for them, Archie Gates learns of their acquisition and takes command of the situation. In his words, "Saddam stole it from the sheiks; I have no problem stealing it from Saddam… Just one stash would be easy to take…and that would be enough to get us out of our day jobs – unless you reservists are in love with your day jobs."

Armed with little more than high expectations, the foursome jumps in a Humvee and launches its own private maneuver. Their plan is to "leave at dawn and be back by lunch."

However, fate plays a trick on these AWOL treasure hunters. Their brief, single-minded foray into Iraqi territory becomes their first face-to-face encounter with the Iraqi people and the complex circumstances of life in a country at war with itself.

One misadventure leads to another, alternating grim reality with surrealistic dark humor, until the four soldiers’ mission changes radically, becoming a journey of discovery and redemption, and an adventure they’ll never forget. [More]

Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze

Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Nora Dunn, Jamie Kennedy, Mykelti Williamson, Cliff Curtis, Said Taghmaoui, Judy Greer, Liz Stauber, Holt McCallany

Director: David O. Russell

Director: David O. Russell
Screenwriter: David O. Russell
Story: John Ridley
Producer: Paul Junger Witt, Charles Roven
Composer: Carter Burwell

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 3, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
  • Collectors Edition
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Three Kings

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Three Kings mightn't be the best thought-out or most reassuring movie of the year, but the more I think about it, the more I'm sure that it is one of the best.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
06/28/09
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It's amazing how much action can be crammed into a movie about a war where most soldiers didn't actually see any action. Three Kings has its fair share of shootouts, none that are merely squeezed in for guilty pleasures. Every shot fired is motivated by c

Full Review Source: AskMen.com | comment Comment
04/09/09
Radheyan Simonpillai
Radheyan Simonpillai
AskMen.com

Far more intelligent and perceptive than most actioners, yet with enough thrills and spills to satisfy adrenaline junkies.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/25/08
Channel 4 Film

A damning yet idealistic satire about the motives behind U.S. foreign policy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
08/25/08
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

(The) screenplay abruptly changes tone after the first half-hour, eventually incorporating some genuinely harrowing sequences... The final picture becomes something noticeably deeper and smarter than its first reels suggest.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
08/06/07
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Worth watching.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

With characters you can root for and a story that is both engaging and honest, Three Kings goes for the gold and comes out a winner.

Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews | comment Comment
05/11/07
Gabriel Shanks
Gabriel Shanks
Mixed Reviews

Keilich strikes a sweetly engaging balance between humor and pathos.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/12/07
Les Wright
Les Wright
culturevulture.net

The last reel descends into a muddle of trade-offs, heroic about-turns and romanticised rebels, but this is defiant, provocative cinema; Russell may yet prove a film-maker to treasure.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out

An action movie with a conscience.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

Go see it for the effects, action and treasure hunt story, but enjoy the intelligence, too.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

It's an outrageous comedy and a challenging morality play, while at heart its a classic Western (set in an unlikely context).

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
01/15/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

Combinando humor e drama com talento, funciona como uma dura crítica à política belicista dos EUA – sendo tão (ou mais) relevante hoje em dia do que quando foi lançado.

comment Comment
09/13/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

The violence and profanity are there, but so is a sharp-edged political point of view, interesting characters and a plot enhanced with dark humor.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
06/25/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

No review available.

comment Comment
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly

No, Three Kings is not a great picture, but it is a very good one, perhaps the first feature of merit to come out of the Gulf War.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/25/03
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A map that leads as near to the Iraqi heart as we can find in American movies.

Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment Comment
04/07/03
Stephen Himes
Stephen Himes
Film Snobs

From frame one, the cinematography of Newton Thomas Sigel is also unmistakable. The washed-out look and grainy feel of the picture puts the audience right into the harsh and unmerciful desert heat.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
03/08/03
Jim Bartoo
Jim Bartoo
Hollywood.com

It's not a bad film from a technical standpoint. I guess I just don't approve of the concept.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Three Kings refuses to be pigeonholed.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/17/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
 
 
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