CCC Reviews

Three Kings

Taking place immediately after the cease fire during the Gulf War, Three Kings is a story about a group soldiers and their search for glory. It starts out quite oddly with Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) asking his fellow soldiers discussing whether or not they should kill an Iraqi soldier off in the distance. This scene provides a great introduction for the questions that will come later in the film. Choosing between living and dying. Choosing over the value of property versus actual people.

The plot of the movie is rather clear cut. During an inspection of Iraqi soldiers, Troy Barlow and Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze) find a map lodged in a soldier's bowels. They take it to Chief Elgin and they begin to analyze it. When Archie Gates (George Clooney) catches word about the map, he sees this as an opportunity to get rich. Upon analyzing the map, they discover that it is directions to the Iraqi supply of Kuwaiti gold that was stolen when Iraq invaded.

However, when the quartet finds the gold, they get wrapped into a political issue that none of them foresaw. They accidentally intervene on the Iraqi capture of several Kuwaiti rebels. When confronted about the rebels, the Iraqi soldiers open fire on the four. All the soldiers are killed and the Americans escape with the gold and the rebels. However, the remaining Iraqi troops launch tear gas grenades forcing the Americans to seek refuge. Barlow is captured and the other three are helped out by the rebels.

In the end, it comes down to a balance between trading human lives for the gold that the Iraqis had stolen. Are a group of refugees worth a truckload of pure gold?

The cast in the movie are absolutely great. Possibly the best performer is Spike Jonze, as sort of a comedy relief. The chemistry is great, as is the charmingly original story line.

Scores for Three Kings
Slacker711 - - "A bit odd, but once you get used to the style, a great film."

Cast
Archie Gates - George Clooney
Troy Barlow - Mark Wahlberg
Chief Elgin - Ice Cube
Conrad Vig - Spike Jonze
Amir Abdullah - Cliff Curtis
Adriana Cruz - Nora Dunn
Walter Wogaman - Jamie Kennedy
Captain Said - Saïd Taghmaoui
Colonel Horn - Mykelti Williamson
Captain Van Meter - Holt McCallany
Cathy Daitch - Judy Greer
Teebaux - Christopher Lohr
Paco - Jon Skarloff
Debbie Barlow - Liz Stauber

Crew
Director - David Russell
Story - John Ridley
Screenplay - David Russell
Producer - Paul Junger Witt
Producer - Edward McDonnell
Producer - Charles Roven
Co-Producer - John Ridley
Co-Producer - Kim Roth
Co-Producer - Douglas Segal
Associate Producer - Alan Glazer
Executive Producer - Bruce Berman
Executive Producer - Gregory Goodman
Executive Producer - Kelley Smith-Wait
Original Music - Carter Burwell
Cinematography - Newton Thomas Sigel
Film Editing - Robert Lambert
Casting - Anne McCarthy
Casting - Mary Vernieu