Les Rois du désert

I spend most of my time bitching at just how mindless and cliched most movies released by Hollywood are, so it's always a pleasant surprise when a 'Pulp Fiction' or a 'Boogie Nights' or an 'American Beauty' gets released and makes me eat my words. 'Three Kings' deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those very fine movies, but what a left field surprise this one was! As much as I enjoyed David O. Russell's previous movies 'Spanking The Monkey' and 'Flirting With Disaster', I never would have expected him to be capable of making a movie as fresh and original as this! Easily overlooked, it very cleverly manages to work simultaneously as an action/adventure, and a comedy, and a wonderfully subversive lesson in recent political history. Who would have thought? The other surprise is just how fine the motley cast is. TV heart throb Clooney, rappers turned actors Wahlberg and Ice Cube, and video director Jonze. All are much better than anyone would have the right to expect, and are supported by some strong performances from the likes of Cliff Curtis ('Once Were Warriors'), Nora Dunn ('The Last Supper'), Jamie Kennedy ('Scream') and especially Said Taghmaoui ('La Haine'), the latter in a role that should have made him an international star. 'Three Kings' is in my opinion a modern classic and one of the very best movies of the last ten years. I can't recommend this one highly enough!

I have to admit first I was born without the gene that understands why countries go to war. I don't understand who is fighting, why they are, the whole concept is a mystery to me. On a moral level its extremely offensive and completely unpleasant for all involved. So by extension its hard to watch a war movie because I go in already confused.

But I know a good movie when I see one, and this is a very good movie in many ways. This movie has a heart, some fantastic acting and something worthwhile to say. It was not hard to watch or understand, especially since, like I said, I don't always get it. But I will be watching this one again. At times it felt like a documentary. All the acting is so natural, no one makes a false move and you can't say that about most movies.

And I also didn't know Infiniti made a convertible!

8/10

I remember the 1991 Gulf War well, and in fact visited the area in late 1991. After looking at the "extras" on the DVD version of Three Kings, you realize how accurate the movie is, having used USA veterans as consultants, and some of the extras were actually Guld War refugees. I rate it "8" of "10".

The movie is action-packed and well-acted. The only thing that threw me off a bit was the sometimes strange mixture of humor and tragedy - people graphically getting killed in one scene, and characters being in humorous situations the next. Still, it is an entertaining movie overall, and gives a great glimpse of what the Gulf War was all about.

In the aftermath of Desert Storm a group of soldiers find a secret map showing a bunker containing Kuwaiti gold. When they begin to go for the gold they find little resistance from an Iraqi army more concerned with killing civilians than protecting gold. The uprising had started when the US army had encouraged civilians to rebel but now will not support them.

When I first saw the trailer for this I knew nothing about it – from the way it was marketed I had assumed it was going to be a modern day `Kelly's Heroes' with bright comedy and good action scenes. On first viewing I was disappointed but interested. On second viewing I now see what this film was about and how badly marketed it had been. The plot is no comedy but is really an extreme anti-war film that condemns America's approach to the Gulf War.

When our characters go after the goal they go in a gung-ho manner, seeking only riches and not interested in the plight of the people. This is how America went in – not to protect the people but because of the impact the invasion was having on oil prices and reserves. The anti-war message is also hammered home in the gross close-up shots of how a bullet damages a body.

It's only in the final half hour that the film goes a little wrong – looking for an ending that isn't depressing in a subject that really can't have a `happy' ending and please American audiences. It has other weaknesses – some of the scenes are off subject , meaningless or just don't work. However for the majority this is a surprisingly good film that makes points that aren't seen in Hollywood films (and if this whole flag waving thing continues much longer, we won't see a counter opinion for quite a while).

The cast are good and deserve praise for choosing this film. Clooney and Wahlberg both add a large box office draw while for Jonze this made up a great summer of exposure. Ice Cube again shows that not all rappers have to do rubbish hip hop comedies to get into movies.

Overall this was betrayed by it's own marketing department and many people may not have liked it for that reason. However this is an intelligent anti-war film that has flaws but should be given respect for it's honesty and bravery.

I've just watched this film two years after umming and arring about going to see it at the flicks when it was released. Two years ago I stayed in with a pizza thinking that George Clooney looking gritty with a load of gold wouldn't be up to much. Then friends started to talk about it quite positively without really saying much about the content. Then I saw it in a buy 2 get 1 free sale at HMV, and now I know that I needn't have to gone through all the bother of digesting a pizza.

I should also add that I'm seeing this after 11/9/2001 and that even with the new perspective world events have cast over films with themes involving the US and the middle East, this film stands up very well. A positive portrayal of Islam, a positive portrayal of the people of Iraq, a sort-of-positive portrayal of the US army abroad, hell even a sympathetic portrayal of a lapdog of Saddam (I'm kind of reminded of Happiness for the sheer taboo-bustingness of this portrayal).

The plot is easy on the mind, the acting is satisfactory, the ending is purest Hollywood and the cinematography is sub-Lawrence of Arabia despite having access to a perfectly adequate desert. What makes this movie stand out is how at ease it is with its subject matter; letting comedy mix with the sort of serious politics that make a lot of people pick their words with great care.

The misleading trailer for this film fits in perfectly with what it's trying to achieve. Pretending to a be a gung-ho, guns and gold, go gettum boys film, it gets those into the cinema who need to hear its message not just those who want to hear. It attempts to slip complex issues through just about all the unthinking jingoism that lingers outside movie theatres on a regular basis and for that I salute it.

Go see.