Three Kings

Rating:
Summary: simply outstanding! a different look at modern war
Review: George Clooney ,Mark Wallberg & Ice Cube star in this offbeat action-comedy about three soilders who stumble on to a map describing the whereabouts tons of gold bullion from saddamm hussain after the ending of the gulf war. Clooney has all the power and screen presence here but does not steel the attention from his fellow co-stars. One of the more grueling scenes was when wallberg was forced to swallow crude oil. How this film was not nominated for an Oscar is very strange being that

this is truly sensational and probably one of the most realistic films to come out of hollywood in a long time. Truly worth seeing again and again.

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Summary: Three Kings
Review: I want to know!I want to review!

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Summary: Run Lola Run goes to war
Review: Tired of standard Hollywood war propaganda? Well, rent "Three Kings" and you'll get a nice, fresh, invigorating slap in the face. This is a movie that zaps you out of your comfort zone and keeps you bouncing off the walls. Instead of Rambo heroics, director David Russell gleefully scrapes away war film stereotypes to reveal the contradictory stew of real life, the whole messy range from humor to the banal horror called violence. Neither preachy nor PBS, Russell fires up his film with a modern, gen-something manic energy reminiscent of Run Lola Run; and then, just when you're feeling all hyped up, he slows things down and makes you care. In this film, the plot is hijacked by reality, the lessons are all in the process, the process speeds by at Mach 9, you're not in Kansas any more, the enemies are human beings ... and our guys are thieves with a conscience, American foot soldiers who get in over their heads and are forced, painfully, to evolve from dumb muscle to flawed heroes worthy of redemption. It's all so crazy, it must be real. This is an intelligent, compassionate, courageous, self-assured film; it has clear eyes and a strong, young voice that is confident of being heard. If you have an ounce of soul, you'll applaud.

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Summary: Original, Piercing Film That Works On Many Levels.
Review: This film is unpredictable, unsettling, and far beyond what you might expect with a cast featuring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube. There is nothing hokey about this film. It examines topics such as the reasons for the war (or lack thereof,) Iraqi rebels, TV news media in the Gulf, and topics that haven't been handled since Sean Connery's "Wrong is Right." This is WELL worth your time and money. If you understand filmmaking, you will agree that "Three Kings" is a very good film. But, if you expect a typical, "rah-rah," GI Joe-style, action flick, you will be sorely disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Not near as good as what some people are saying
Review: The movie wasn't too bad but I didn't like the Directing and/or editing at all.

Rent, Don't Buy is my recommendation.

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Summary: Cool, very slick, work of art
Review: As with most of the customer reviews, I really enjoyed the movie. Clooney, even though I usually can't stand him, did well as a army major who seems self-centered at first, but comes through as a hero in the end.

Even though they were a renegade bunch were at odds with the rest of the army even till that great climactic scene, I thought these 4 could easily represent the entire American army. They were only out to get gold. America was in Iraq and Kuwait mostly to protect their own interests in oil, I think--which is why I loved the scene where Wahlberg had oil forced down his throat by an Iraqi soldier I began to like.

And the way the camera moved, the way it followed the bullets when the bunch were first attacked, the way we were shown what the people were thinking, made the movie very cool, very slick. Sometimes the scenes looked gritty, very realistic (as realistic as a work of art can be compared to reality).

Someone compared the movie to "kelly's Heroes." The plot is almost the same. And the scene where the rebel leader's wife is killed in front of him and his daughter remineded me of a scene in "Platoon." And the gritty handheld camera work looked like "Saving Private Ryan." I wouldn't blame a movie for imitating something else. The way this movie borrowed from other movies, mixed in some very original and perceptive ideas, and took itself seriously, made this an amazing movie (a little like "Matrix"). Russell (writer-director) and Ridley (original screenwriter) really made something great here.

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Summary: Great movie, Outstanding DVD
Review: Three Kings is one of the most unusual war movies that I have ever seen. Of course, this may have something to do with the fact that Desert Storm was a pretty unusual war. I liked this movie because it surprised me. I went into the theater expecting a war movie, and what I saw was a war movie with a twist. Maybe that should read "twisted war movie." Regardless, Three Kings is the story of *FOUR* (not three) soldiers who go AWOL in search of Kuwaiti gold. They find the gold, but more importantly, they find redemption. There is a lot of depth in this movie that a lot of viewers/critics haven't searched for, and the reward is well worth the effort.

Three Kings has got to be one of the best DVDs that I have ever seen. GREAT video, excellent audio, an anamorphic transfer, and several screens full of extras make this a definite keeper. My only complaint is in the packaging. I don't know why, but Warner Brothers insists on packaging their DVDs in these flimsy cardboard cases instead of the nice plastic snapcases. I guess this is not such a big deal, but it's still kind of irritating.

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Summary: Hey! It's a M-O-V-I-E!
Review: This film was: surprising... intelligent... informative... well-acted... entertaining! What more does a movie need to be?

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Summary: Overrated, but thoroughly watchable
Review: Not bad by any means, however, I expected a lot more out of this. Roger Ebert gave this four stars, and people have raved about it. Personally, I don't see what the fuss was about. Sure, the story was pretty good, with interesting situations. And the characters weren't bad either. But the action could have used some help. Really nothing to write home about. I guess I expected too much after Cinescape ranked this the 25th best action film of all time. You get some gun fights and explosions, but it's all 'been there, done that,' with the exception of one interesting shoot out, that has crazy motion effects.

The film has some agenda, with a mild anti-American bent, but it's not severe. You get some feminism with the obnoxious news reporter. The 'R' rating is for: one sex scene in the beginning that's quick, but nothing is shown. There is a decent amount of gore, and some curses.

I was not bored by Three Kings. It held my interest throughout. Some of the decisions Clooney made were not realistic, I thought. I couldn't buy into several situations which occurred. It was entertaining, but certainly not one of the better movies to come out. There's a lot of movies better than this.

Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary piece of work
Review: I was expecting a fun in the sun with guns and gold kind of movie. Boy was I surprised! This ranks up with movies like Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line as a really intelligent "war like it really is" story.

It starts off fairly simply. At the end of Desert Storm a group of soldiers find a map showing where stolen Kuwaiti gold was being kept so they go get it. What was extraordinary was the way that the Iraqi soldiers actually helped them but would not let them help any of the locals. Orders from Saddam they said.

However, seeing the injustice being meted out by the Iraqi soldiers our four heroes (Clooney, Wahlberg, Cube and Jonze) decide to intervene. Things do not go well as Wahlberg is captured and tortured and all their vehicles are destroyed.

The torture scene is poignant. Wahlberg and his torturer have much in common: they are fathers, they joined the army to give their families a better standard of living, except that the torturer's one year old son was killed in a US bombing raid and his wife lost her legs. When later on Wahlberg is rescued and he has a chance to kill his torturer, his decision adds all the more depth to the story.

Although Saddam is villified in this movie, the story seems to take no sides. This is not about heroes and glory but about the struggle that everyone has with their own oppression - whether it is a tyrant, a poor job or dumb bosses. There are some very touching moments and some great humour. All the actors are very convincing (including all the Iraqi extras) and portay the ambiguity of people caught up in something out of their control.

This is a very good movie and will keep you thinking. The anatomical "shots" are an interesting feature but are insignificant against the storyline. A good movie to add to your collection and talk about with your friends. Loads of extras on the DVD too!