Three Kings (1999)
Directed by David O. Russell
A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden near their base, and they embark on a secret mission that's destined to change everything.
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It combines the mercenary workings of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" with the "The Red Badge of Courage."
The map leads to tens of millions in dollars in gold that Saddam Hussein stole from Kuwait, and the four guys who go after it are high on "Kelly's Heroes" bravado.
October 3, 1999 -- On the surface, "Three Kings" looks like a remake of "Kelly's Heroes" because the plot is about the same, but it is a curious mixture of cynicism and humanity.
On the surface "Three Kings" may look like a gulf war version of "Kelly's Heroes," but it's got a lot more in common with the movies "Catch-22" and "M*A*S*H."
But throughout the second half of the film, which started out as a Gulf War Kelly's Heroes, it devolves into a strange, semi-Shavian discussion and debate over our common humanity.
But a documentary about the making of the film also included on the DVD, as well as Russell's own video journal, shows a different filmmaker: a cocky, inexperienced brat who found $40 million for a film with only two low-budget indies behind him ("Spanking the Monkey" and "Flirting With Disaster") and a killer script in his hand.
Now comes "Three Kings," fashionably-directed by acclaimed indie filmmaker David O. Russell (1994's "Spanking the Monkey," 1996's "Flirting With Disaster"), which is not your usual war picture, and about as far as could be from something akin to Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan."
The style also complements Russell's screen-writing, which is still as character-obsessed as "Spanking the Monkey" or "Flirting With Disaster," only now it's the characters' content that matters as opposed to their neurotic dysfunction, suggesting Russell has learned to stop worrying and just ride the SCUD, Slim Pickens-style, into oblivion.
Director David O. Russell’s ( Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster ) film is much more than just your average action movie, as it compiles dark themes with light-hearted humor in an entertaining yet frightful odyssey of three American soldiers and the complications of the Gulf War.
Writer-director David O. Russell, who scored independent success with Spanking the Monkey and Flirting With Disaster, here moves confidently into the Hollywood mainstream, enlivening it with his original vision.
Writer-director David O. Russell, heretofore best known for the idiosyncratic indies Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster, establishes a quirky sense of humor in the film's lighthearted early treasure hunting stages, then midway shifts gears into a thoughtful--but never heavyhanded--examination of the post-war plight of the Iraqi people.
Writer-director David O. Russell, who scored independent success with Spanking the Monkey and Flirting With Disaster, here moves confidently into the Hollywood mainstream, enlivening it with his original vision.
Though his characters fit the stereotypes of soldiers spawned by countless war movies, writer-director David O. Russell ("Flirting with Disaster") graces them with fresh, funny dialogue (such as the ongoing debate about whether Lexus makes a convertible) and, with cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel ("The Usual Suspects"), tells their story with a grab-bag of visual tricks that help make up for the moments when the pace starts to lag.
But a documentary about the making of the film also included on the DVD, as well as Russell's own video journal, shows a different filmmaker: a cocky, inexperienced brat who found $40 million for a film with only two low-budget indies behind him ("Spanking the Monkey" and "Flirting With Disaster") and a killer script in his hand.
Now comes "Three Kings," fashionably-directed by acclaimed indie filmmaker David O. Russell (1994's "Spanking the Monkey," 1996's "Flirting With Disaster"), which is not your usual war picture, and about as far as could be from something akin to Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan."
The style also complements Russell's screen-writing, which is still as character-obsessed as "Spanking the Monkey" or "Flirting With Disaster," only now it's the characters' content that matters as opposed to their neurotic dysfunction, suggesting Russell has learned to stop worrying and just ride the SCUD, Slim Pickens-style, into oblivion.
Director David O. Russell’s ( Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster ) film is much more than just your average action movie, as it compiles dark themes with light-hearted humor in an entertaining yet frightful odyssey of three American soldiers and the complications of the Gulf War.
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There's "The Man Who Would Be King," also about Westerners who thought to get rich off of native peoples, and John Ford's "Three Godfathers," about tough guys who have a change of heart in the desert.
On the other hand, the film is written by John Ridley (U Turn, ) who has a fondness for deserts and what Pat Holmes calls day for noir subject matter.
Director and co-writer, David O. Russell ("Spanking the Monkey"), with writer John Ridley ("U Turn"), make all the right moves with the plot, stringing it out to its logical conclusion.
Now comes "Three Kings," fashionably-directed by acclaimed indie filmmaker David O. Russell (1994's "Spanking the Monkey," 1996's "Flirting With Disaster"), which is not your usual war picture, and about as far as could be from something akin to Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan."
It kind of has the maverick feel of the best parts of "Saving Private Ryan", but it also has the good sense to drop the patriotism and send a strong anti-war message instead.
"Three Kings" combines the dark comedy of "MASH" with the gruesome violence of "Saving Private Ryan", yet it still maintains a visual style that's unique and compelling.
Troopers Barlow (Mark Wahlberg: Traveller, Boogie Nights ), Elgin (Ice Cube), and Vig (Spike Jonze) discover, on one of the enemy soldiers, a map to the secret bunker where Saddam Hussein's hijacked Kuwaiti loot is hidden.
Mark Wahlberg, in his first impressive turn since 1997's "Boogie Nights," is absolutely fabulous as the conflicted Sgt.
He and his fellow conspirators, Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg of "Boogie Nights" and Chief Elgin (Ice Cube of "Anaconda") and the dim-witted Vig (Spike Jonze of "The Game") set off to liberate some Kuwaiti gold from the Iraquis at the end of the Gulf War.
He's another one you could have been tempted to dismiss as "just a Calvin Klein model" before his glorious turn as "Boogie Nights"' Dirk Diggler.
Mark Wahlberg, who hit it big with "Boogie Nights" and then disappointed with "The Big Hit," does just as well here, playing a successful soldier who wants to get home to his child and wife before anything potentially deadly might happen (and believe me, there are moments when his fate is almost sealed).
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The messages are similar to those familiar from anti-war films like Paths of Glory, M*A*S*H and Platoon -- war is even more hellish when policy has little to do with humanity -- yet the characters are not nearly as strong.
In places Three Kings feels like a Republic serial thats had dabs of Apocalypse Nows moral atmosphere grafted onto it: instead of labyrinths or pyramids, its heroes dash through torture chambers.
The commentaries -- one from the director, another by two of the producers -- try to set up Russell in the center of a sort of "Apocalypse Now"- or "Fitzcarraldo"-style nightmare, fighting against the studio for time and money, braving the desert dust with filtered masks and goggles.