Three Kings (1999) Review

 

Three Kings (1999)

Three Kings follows 4 American soldiers who, just after the end of the Gulf War, decide to steal a hidden cache of Saddam Hussein's gold, though accidentally joining the fight against what remains of his army, to deliver the Iraqi rebellion to safety. 

Most war films, especially the few to cover the Gulf War, are as predictably pro-war and patriotic as they come. Three Kings however, isn’t most war films. Instead, we are given a pretty violently anti-war satire that is as grim as it is funny. Realistically speaking (as someone who has not been in the military but comes from a family of it) this seems (apart from the gold heist element) to be one of the more accurate portrayals of both the military and overseas combat as a whole. Every bullet feels alive and thus in the few instances where bullets do go flying, it doesn’t feel like an action movie where our heroes come out unscathed. They leave as criminals of war, under morally muddy circumstances that only show to highlight the backwards priorities of the American military (and the U.S.) following the Gulf War. 

If anything, it’s a damning critique of American foreign policy that flat out criticizes the politics and priorities of out government altogether, in what is, at times, both subtle and glaring. It pretty genuinely utilizes a thinly veiled cover of comedy in the face of disturbing instances of murder, torture, and certain death to make it’s point, understatedly hinting at it’s anti-war subtext without blatantly throwing it in your face. 

The film also boasts a pretty great cast, featuring Holt McCallany, Saïd Taghmaoui, Mykelti Williamson, Jamie Kennedy, Nora Dunn, Cliff Curtis, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Mark Wahlberg, and George Clooney. I absolutely love the dynamic between Cube, Jonze, Wahlberg, and Clooney because it’s one of immediate chemistry and brotherhood to an extent, where all four really sell every element of their perspective roles, whether it be comedic relief or reluctant moral fortitude. 

Three Kings, directed by David O. Russell, is without a doubt, one of the more overlooked and underrated war films to come out of the Gulf War era, accurately depicting the limbo period between truce and departure where anything goes and winning means very little when the dust settles. 

9.2/10