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Three Kings ... 1999
"Three Kings" is a perfectly dosed mixture of old-fashioned adventure and war movie with liberal humor and tragic emotions.
| Released: | 1999 |
| Running Time: | 114 minutes |
| Cast: | George
Clooney .... Maj. Archie Gates Mark Wahlberg .... Sfc. Troy Barlow Ice Cube .... SSgt. Chief Elgin Spike Jonze .... Pfc. Conrad Vig Cliff Curtis .... Amir Abdullah Nora Dunn .... Adriana Cruz |
| Writers: | John Ridley (story) David O. Russell (screenplay) |
| Director: | David O. Russell |
| My Rating | **** |
"Not another war
movie!" many might say. People, this is "the" war movie of the '90s! Hollywood
may have heard and produced war films before "Three Kings" but the truth is
nobody expected this one to be exciting, intelligent, thought provoking and even
entertaining. After all, "Three Kings" deals with The Gulf War in Iraq.
Sensitive topic!
Director David O. Russell offers a great example
of how to make a film which can carry such an extraordinary message and how to
make people receive this message in an appropriate way. A wonderful example of
how Hollywood's money can be spent on quality releases, "Three Kings" is a
perfectly dosed mixture of old-fashioned adventure and war movie with liberal
humor and tragic emotions. O. Russell's recipe is new, interesting and
it works!
"Three Kings" features George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze in the roles of soldiers who are anxiously waiting for the end of Operation Desert Storm. While cavorting about, drinking and having a good time, they are confronted with an enemy soldier whom they have to shoot (the scene is rather funny, you have to see it!). On the Iraqi soldier they find a map which they believe uncovers a large amount of gold stolen by Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. Convinced by the Captain (Clooney), the soldiers venture towards the bunkers with the plan to steal the gold and get back before anyone notices.
The movie is structured on two plans. If on the surface we witness the action sequences which are specific of this genre, underneath, the movie treats questions of patriotism, bravery and simple mortality. The problem of morality appears when the soldiers need to make a decision: whether to support the oppressed citizens they were there to protect or to desert them when their assistance is needed the most. Well, what do you think the decision is?
Apparently, with
"Three Kings", the director's first priority was to entertain and he has
the help of three superb actors who know how to entertain their audience.
However, they also have a message to deliver (remember the three kings in the
Bible) and the best way to do that is to create an exciting atmosphere. The
script writer carefully inserts many intelligent questions upon matters of the
war, in the same time keeping the movie from becoming caught in its own message.
It's not an easy task and this is why "Three Kings" has been so well received
and appreciated by the public.
After his role in "Out of Sight", George Clooney had another great performance in "Three Kings", once again proving his high class. The rest of the cast comes to support him and thus we have Mark Wahlberg in a role which will strengthen his career from now on by helping him earn some audience respect as well. Wahlberg plays the part of a normal guy who is caught up in things that are beyond his power of control. Ice Cube completes this team with a performance which definitely raises him above the sidekick crowd.
From a technical point of view, you can't ask more from director O. Russell. The final shape of the movie couldn't look better. He uses all the tricks he knows to create a kinetic film destined to grab and maintain the audience's attention. As expected, "Three Kings" was vastly appreciated at its release in 1999, one of the reasons for this being the fact that this may be the first film that dared to question (in a decent way though) the authority of the United States Military.
