Another in the slew of great 99' films to be cruelly overlooked at the Oscars, Three Kings is a modern war story which manages to sublimely encapsulate great characters, dialogue, action scenes, plotting and most interestingly of all: morality. Set during the final days of the Gulf War it focuses on 4 soldiers, Archie Gates (Clooney), Troy Barlow (Wahlberg), Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) and Conrad Vig (Jonze, who directed Being John Malkovich in the same year) who find a secret map leading to millions in captured Kuwaiti gold. Grabbing a Humvee and relying more on surprise than any kind of rational plan, they head off into unfriendly territory and, shock horror, more than they bargained for.
Whilst being formally a war movie this is really anything but. The action scenes when they come are superbly filmed but they merely compliment the plot and acting rather than shoring it up. The main kudo's go to the script which is full of sharp dialogue and intricate moral plotting, the director David O. Russell who introduces several new camera techniques and drained the film of some colour before it's release to give it a grittier edge, and the actors themselves who are all perfectly cast and give a brilliant account of themselves.
Superb as always is Clooney who plays tough Special Ops soldier Gates, the leader of the mission. His subtle blend of dark humour, war fatigue and eventual emotional release is very believable.
Wahlberg is, as I've said a dozen times before, Wahlberg; though once again he appears to have chosen a character well suited to his acting style. The scene with him locked away in an Iraqi command bunker trying to calmly explain his situation to his bemused wife via mobile telephone always cracks me up. It's Jonze though who steals the show as the uneducated, unemployed reservist who Clooney takes under his wing. The lines he comes out with are hilarious yet like everyone else he too is changed by the moral confusion over whether to help the helpless, even at the cost of millions in gold, or take the money and run. An excellent film. |
