Three Kings (1999)

7.1/10

94%

Release Date: 2-10-1999

Rent/Stream

Buy to own

Synopsis

The Gulf War has ended, a ceasefire is in place and US troops are to be sent home soon. During a search, a group of American soldiers find a secret Iraqi map (in an unusual hiding place!), which shows the location of a bunker where Iraq is hiding stolen gold bullion taken from Kuwait. Army Reserve Sergeant First Class Troy Barlow, Private First Class Conrad Vig, Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin and Major Archie Gates set out on an unofficial mission to recover it for themselves. Their straight forward plan reveals some truths about the war and they soon discover people who desperately need their help.

Genres

Who worked on this film

David O. Russell
Director
George Clooney
Actor
Mark Wahlberg
Actor
Ice Cube
Actor
Spike Jonze
Actor

David O. Russell

Director

when you make a film like Three Kings, you have to believe that the work will stand the test of time, and there are still people who come up to me and speak about that picture. So it has a different life in that regard, and you have to believe in that, like you would your child and you have to believe in it regardless. Source: DenofGeek interview 2015

Watching Three Kings in 2020

I remember watching Three Kings sometime in the early 2000s, I'd rented it from Blockbuster or my local VHS store. I enjoyed it, it was a good war movie that felt a little different but at the time I didn't fully appreciate it. I watched it and that was that I carried on with my life. Fast forward some 20-years and I get a push notification from Netflix informing me that Three Kings was available to stream which I thought was odd because usually I only get them for new movies or new shows. It sparked my interest, I sat down to watch Three Kings and it blew me away. I had completely overlooked the cinematography the first time around and Newton Thomas Sigel does some really interesting and creative work. It is quite a mix of styles but somehow that suits it perfectly. It was a bold move, taking a cynical look at the Gulf War in the style that it is in and director David O Russell takes a lot of risks that he pulls off. It is also really entertaining, I mean come on it has George Clooney, Ice Cube, and Mark Wahlberg driving a Rolls Royce and an Infiniti convertible through the Iraqi desert to steal gold bullion. If anyone hasn't seen this film in a while, go back and watch it, it is truly awesome.