THREE KINGS takes the position after the war. Most war movies are about the catastrophes during a war. THREE KINGS references catastrophes after the war. The funny thing though is the main plot is not about war. It's about gold.

4 soldiers come across a map that will lead them to a hidden bunker full of Sadaam Hussein's gold. They find the map in the oddest of places. It belonged to a wounded soldier's butt. The dark humor that you see in the movie's trailer stays around until the soldiers find the gold. After that, it seems to disappear. The movie takes a very swift turn. The mood changes to depression. Because that's when the focus shifts away from the gold and towards the pitiful refugees who were caught up in Desert Storm.

The movie draws you in with the gold factor, then captures you like a refugee with its harrowing mood change. There are many moments worth noting in the movie, maybe too many. The scene that has been getting most of the attention shows a bullet going through a soldier, literally. On the big screen, we see the insides of a then wounded soldier. It's quite a moving shot.

The director used a similar coloring to that of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. The color is faded and dry. Those same characteristics are found in Stanley Kubrick's brilliant EYES WIDE SHUT. The leads are solid, with Spike Jonze (the "fourth" king) standing out.