Three Kings (1999)
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.
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.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 182,154
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
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Cast
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George Clooney
Major Archie Gates -
Mark Wahlberg
Sergeant Troy Barlow -
Ice Cube
Chief Elgin -
Spike Jonze
Conrad Vig -
Nora Dunn
Adriana Cruz -
Jamie Kennedy
Walter Wogaman -
Mykelti Williamson
Colonel Horn -
Cliff Curtis
Amir Abdulah -
Said Taghmaoui
Captain Sa'id -
Judy Greer
Cathy Daitch -
Liz Stauber
Debbie Barlow -
Holt McCallany
Captain Van Meter -
Pete Antico
[uncredited] Oasis B... -
Peter Macdissi
Oasis Bunker Iraqi R...
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Three Kings Trailer & Photos
All Critics (133) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (121) | Rotten (8) | DVD (26)
A damning yet idealistic satire about the motives behind U.S. foreign policy.
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.
Top CriticNo, 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.
Russell's edgy pacing here and the assorted styles he's adopted create an exciting, restless immediacy.
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.
It has the freedom and recklessness of Oliver Stone or Robert Altman in their mad-dog days, and a visual style that hungers for impact.
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.
Violent, liberal George Clooney Gulf War caper.
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.
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.
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
Far more intelligent and perceptive than most actioners, yet with enough thrills and spills to satisfy adrenaline junkies.
(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.
Worth watching.
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.
Keilich strikes a sweetly engaging balance between humor and pathos.
An action movie with a conscience.
Go see it for the effects, action and treasure hunt story, but enjoy the intelligence, too.
It's an outrageous comedy and a challenging morality play, while at heart its a classic Western (set in an unlikely context).
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.
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.
A map that leads as near to the Iraqi heart as we can find in American movies.
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.
Audience Reviews for Three Kings
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Movies Like Three Kings
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- Sergeant Troy Barlow: Are we shooting people or what?
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- Major Archie Gates: Though's don't work in the day time.
- Walter Wogaman: They kinda do.
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- 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.
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- Conrad Vig: Man... I didn't join the army to pull paper our of people's asses.
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- Cathy Daitch: Oh look at you Adriana, look at what's become of you.
- Adriana Cruz: Yeah look at me, I've got my clothes on - I'm dressed!
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Other portrayals of the Gulf War in cinema? | 38 days ago | 2 |
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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.