Today’s quick review: Three Kings. At the end of the Gulf War, American soldiers Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg), Archie Gates (George Clooney), Chief Elgin (Ice Cube), and Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze) discover a map to one of Saddam Hussein’s bunkers of stolen gold. The four soldiers sneak away from camp to pick up the gold, but become entangled in a conflict between Saddam’s troops and the Iraqi rebels, turning their simple heist into a disaster.
Three Kings is a war comedy that provides an on-the-ground perspective of the Gulf War. One part satire, one part drama, Three Kings follows four opportunists as they attempt to steal millions in Kuwaiti gold, only to end up caught in a complicated and dangerous situation. Three Kings is a mixed bag, a blend of good and bad ideas that keeps it from achieving anything significant.
Three Kings has a peculiar tone that makes it difficult to categorize. The early parts of the movie are a satire of the Gulf War: a sloppy group of soldiers wrap up the last of their duties in Iraq as a struggling reporter (Nora Dunn) tries to make sense of the war. Eventually Three Kings morphs into a fairly credible drama about the tangled morality of war and the difficult and often futile nature of trying to do the right thing.
The result is an uneven war film with a few interesting themes, distinct political overtones, and enough of a plot to get by. The execution is mixed: a solid cast is offset by mediocre characters, the generally passable direction is hurt by a few bad choices, and the hybrid of comedy and drama gives the movie an odd tone. The film has its moments, but as a whole it does not click the way a classic would or entertain the way a popcorn film would.
Ultimately, Three Kings is not a bad watch, but it is a poor choice for anyone looking for an overt comedy, a tense military drama, or a conventional action flick. Instead, the optimal viewer is a fan of political commentary with a taste for satire and an appreciation for the human side of war. Watch it if you liked The Men Who Stare At Goats or are looking for a subversive take on the war genre. Skip it otherwise.
7.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for a mixture of interesting and mediocre content.