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—— After Earth May 31
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Three Kings (1999)

tomatometer

94

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 129
Fresh: 121 | Rotten: 8

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

90

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 3

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

audience

70

liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 161,410

My Rating

Movie Info

Three stars team up for this unusual look at America's role in the war against Iraq. In 1991, as the Gulf War winds to a close, three American servicemen find themselves happy to have achieved victory but wondering about the ultimate importance of what they've done (especially since Saddam Hussein is still in power). Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) is a decorated Vietnam veteran and special forces officer with two weeks to go before he retires; Sgt. Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) has a new baby

R,

Action & Adventure, Comedy

,

David O. Russell

Sep 4, 2001

Warner Bros. Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (133) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (127) | Rotten (8) | DVD (26)

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

August 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

April 25, 2003 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Russell's edgy pacing here and the assorted styles he's adopted create an exciting, restless immediacy.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee
Sacramento Bee
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Ultimately, instead of drawing us in, his swagger and the dazzle of his pyrotechnics keep us at a remove from the savagery. They become abstractions, too.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Magazine
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The first Hollywood feature to take on the 1991 Gulf War, Three Kings does so in an impudently comic, stylistically aggressive and, finally, very thoughtful manner.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One of Hollywood's few films about the Gulf War, David O. Russell's Three Kings is an original war feature that's effective as a social satire as well as political critique.

February 4, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Violent, liberal George Clooney Gulf War caper.

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

A hallucinatory near-masterpiece and one of the best American war films produced in the 1990s.

October 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

Ithis is a career making movie, then its writer/director David O. Russell who deserves the credit with this very creative effort from the debut filmmaker.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Dark Horizons
Dark Horizons

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.

June 28, 2009 Full Review
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

April 9, 2009 Full Review Source: AskMen.com

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

August 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

(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.

August 6, 2007 Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | Comment (1)
Kalamazoo Gazette

Worth watching.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound
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.

May 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews

Keilich strikes a sweetly engaging balance between humor and pathos.

March 12, 2007 Full Review Source: culturevulture.net
culturevulture.net

An action movie with a conscience.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

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

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews
Reeling Reviews

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

January 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Looking Closer | Comment (1)
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.

September 13, 2004
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.

June 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

Audience Reviews for Three Kings

I thought I had previously rated and reviewed this, but I guess not.

Directed by David O. Russell, this is a movie based on a true story about three American servicemen during the Gulf War who hatch a plan to make off with a stash of Kuwaiti gold stolen by Saddam Hussein. The three initially decide to make off with the fortune, but the closer they get to finding it, the more they realize the truth and consequences about the role of the U.S. in the part of the world, and the realities of American foreign policy. These revelations have profound impacts on the men, forcing them all to make some tough choices and evaluations.

While the set up alone is great, what makes the movie really shine is how ambitious it is in terms of genre classification. It's humorous (at times), quite serious and dramatic at others, and in general a really scathing socio/political satire. Oh eyah, it's also a war film, too. It's a mix that doesn't always work, but manages to in this case, thanks in no small part to the skill of the director.

It's not all on him, though. The script is quite great, and very intelligent, the casting is top notch, with the three leads of George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube all delivering very fine work, providing nicely rounded and developed characters. Yes, even Ice Cube (for those who doubt he actually does having acting skills).

The action scenes are well done, and don't upstage the meat of the picture, the camerawork and editing are pretty good, and the fact that the film finds a nice balance between entertaining and enlightening is remarkable.

Definitely give this one a shot, it's terrific.
December 19, 2012
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

Based on true story, this is an action movie about three soldiers who seek treasure for themselves at the end of the Gulf war. They are torn between their own gain and saving refugees. Lots of action and a good soundtrack.
July 14, 2007
thmtsang
Candy Rose

Super Reviewer

    1. Sergeant Troy Barlow: Are we shooting people or what?
    – Submitted by Moe J (7 months ago)
    1. Major Archie Gates: Though's don't work in the day time.
    2. Walter Wogaman: They kinda do.
    – Submitted by macky s (14 months ago)
    1. Major Archie Gates: The way it works is, you do the thing you're scared shitless of, and you get the courage AFTER you do it, not before you do it.
    – Submitted by Nusfish K (15 months ago)
    1. Conrad Vig: Man... I didn't join the army to pull paper our of people's asses.
    – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)
    1. Cathy Daitch: Oh look at you Adriana, look at what's become of you.
    2. Adriana Cruz: Yeah look at me, I've got my clothes on - I'm dressed!
    – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)

Discussion Forum

Topic Last Post Replies
Other portrayals of the Gulf War in cinema? 5 months ago 0

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