Despite looking very realistic in the way Three Kings was shot, it is built on a stupid, unrealistic premise. During a ceasefire four American soldiers try to steal gold from Saddam's troops for their own profit. I went in this movie thinking it was as a dark comedy in a war setting and I could suspend my disbelief for some laughs. *SPOILERS*Indeed, it starts off as a slightly comedic action movie a la Bad Boys: US Soldiers pull a secret map out of a prisoner's bottom, they crack jokes, drive around in a HUMVEE listening to Beach Boys, shooting at footballs. A female reporter bangs a major to get a good story. But then there are brutal scenes like a mother getting shot in the head in front of her daughter. And a rather dramatic scene where the meaning and cruelties of war are debated, while a soldier is getting tortured. Not a comedy after all?You could say that Full Metal Jacket also started off with a partially humorous first half before turning darker in tone. Whereas Full Metal Jacket competently tells a story about characters, we are left here with four cardboard main characters that have stupid arcs. At first they went in because... who would say no to a lot of gold? And in the end they completely forget that they ever were employed by the army and they want to do what is right (so that the film can claim having a bit of heart).The weirdest thing is, that it has still quite some entertaining parts. They go rogue, march into freed villages, yell at people who don't speak English, while a soundtrack of jazz drumming is playing in the background and creating an atmosphere of chaos. But you never quite get rid of the feeling of "What's going on?" You will think: I just laughed a couple of minutes ago when they faked the arrival of Saddam Hussein's limo and now I'm watching a soldier's lung collapsing?The editing and usage of soundtrack was actually the most outstanding about the film.

The Persian Gulf War is the one of the least touched topics Hollywood has brought to the war genre, the war intended to bring down the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who was running domination over Kuwait. So there aren't a whole lot of films out there centering on the Gulf War, with 'Courage Under Fire' and Jarhead' to name a few. David O. Russell, however, dives deep into height of the Gulf War with this dark comedy set in 1991 during the aftermath. With the war reaching a stopping point, four soldiers: Major Archie Gates (played by George Clooney), Troy Barlow (played by Mark Wahlberg), Chief Elgin (played by Ice Cube), and Conrad Vig (played by Spike Jonze), are delusioned by the lack of action they face during active duty and are on their ways of retirement. This is until one day where they capture an Iraqi prisoner who has a secret map hidden where the sun don't shine. These four soldiers discover the map leads to a hidden gold stolen from Kuwait. They embark on a quest in search of the stolen gold inside the bunker of a base camp filled with Iraqi refugees, but witness a violent uprising by rebels sent by Saddam Hussein. The foursome must make a desperate decision to run off with the gold or save the refugees from the atrocity. This picture isn't your average, everyday war flick that shines the spotlight on the horrors of war and how its dehumanizing effects on soldiers, although there is plenty of combat and death. This film takes a lighthearted turn on portraying the Persian Gulf War, while conveying many liberties. What director David O. Russell makes of this war film is a dark comedy sprinkled with violence, surprising humor, and plenty of liberal political commentary. The plot sets in on the main characters' departure to the base camp where they quickly witness the sadistic rebellion of Iraqis associated with the cruel dictator who has Kuwait under his domination. Mothers, fathers, and children are seen suffering starvation, torture, and vicious beating that become eye sores to the main characters who develop the heart to push their mission aside and save help these poor victims from the atrocious acts. And these scenes lead to some thought-demanding political discussions, including a suggestion that the Iraqis were told by our government to rebel against Saddam Hussein. So the characters express anger against George H. Bush who was the president at the time of the setting that some viewers, particularly Bush fans could take offense to, but at the same time, it generates a bold and powerful political undertone with plenty of surprisingly funny dialogue thrown around as well as some intense, bloody gun fights between the characters and the rebels.The cinematography functions as a great aspect of the film. With the Casa Grande desert in Arizona serving as the backdrop for the Iraqi desert, the film features a oddly saturated picture with high contrast in the bright colors and dark colors to give the the film a look of a film reel lost in the desert. The camera-work really fits the themes of the plot and an inspiring aspect. The cast however, really steals the show here. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze give off some spectacular performances. Spike Jonze delights his presence with plenty of comic relief and probably delivers the most comedic lines out of the whole cast. These four actors are very convicted in their roles and demonstrate some great chemistry together. Nora Dunn who plays a journalist who is also an eye-catcher here and perhaps slightly underused. Three Kings is both a bold and spectacular experience sparkled with sheer violence and shocking humor along with a intensely talented cast who knocks the ball out of the park. This is honestly one of the most underrated films by a very talented director, and definitely doesn't quite get the attention it deserves. If you come across this film, this one may be a good pick.

Over the past few years Director David O. Russell has struck Oscar gold with "Silver Lining Playbook" and "American Hustle". Attaching rising mega stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper to both hasn't hurt either. Back in the late 90s Russell's first commercial hit was the Gulf War action/satire/adventure "Three Kings" starring a platoon of rising stars including George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube. Obviously they were all known but Clooney was coming of TV's "E.R." and Wahlberg and Ice Cube we're mainly known for their music careers.The story is stationed in Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War in '91. Saddam and his forces have been sent packing. With no major fighting the American troops are painted to look like a bunch of bored teenagers looking for any action they can get into. Many wondering why were there in the first place. Here's a not so subtle hint, they have a lot of oil, and the first President Bush was protecting his investments. American forces are preparing to get the hell out of the desert when Barlow (Wahlberg), Vig (Spike Jonze) and Elgin (Cube) find a map to one of Saddam's stolen gold bunkers hidden in a surrendering Iraqi man's ass.Clooney plays Archie Gate a special forces guy who when not screwing the media, literally, is just waiting out the war so he can retire from active duty. Gates come across the guys and the map and decides they can make a quick and quiet in and out strike to snatch the gold. But of course things happen and they underestimate the danger of their secret operation. Their plan to just grab the gold and run hits a snag when they witness Saddam's Republican Guard soldiers brutalizing and killing civilians. They can't help but get involved in their struggle, but being only a small unit they quickly get in over their heads. They eventually find the gold, but gold is really heavy and can be quite cumbersome to transport. Things get serious were Barlow is taken hostage and Vig is hurt. They get help from the locals but its going to cost them. The action is amazing as well as the visual style from overly bright and bleached out colors of the desert to the sound design. There is also a dark satirical thread throughout as well as more overt humor. It's a fun film all around."Three Kings was the pinnacle of the first part of David O. Russell's career as his next film was the unbelievably awful existential film "I Heart Huckabees". It took six years for his next film and a return to form with "The Fighter". Russell is an extremely talented director and will always be interested in his upcoming films.

Set amid the confusion at the end of the Gulf war initially I found Three Kings to be really obnoxious, it just left a bad taste in my mouth with all these American soldiers acting like a-hole cowboys, using their guns as toys because they hadn't seen any combat action, shooting stuff up, being racist and running around like they own the country. Hard to find that humorous. I've come to realize though, that may have been the point here.This did get better for me as the movie went along and by the time GI's George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube had sufficiently "disappeared" into the desert with their audacious plans of stealing the stolen Kuwaiti gold, experienced one ridiculous screw up after another so that now their mission is actually helping refugees (Cliff Curtis) and running for their lives. When the obnoxiousness took a back seat, I began to really enjoy this movie and admit to getting several laughs along the way.Ultimately this ended up being much deeper with a bigger message than I had counted on. 9/24/14