Directed by: David O. Russell
Starring: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Nora Dunn, Cliff Curtis, Mykelti Williamson, Jamie Kennedy
There are moments in Three Kings where we think we are heading somewhere special, and others which make the film feel longer than the Gulf War itself. It is a frustrating film, moving between satire and political agendas in jerky, clunky fashion; unable to get out of its own way. With that said, Three Kings gives us wonderfully three-dimensional performances and scenes of true power in which the reasons for fighting Saddam Hussein are questioned and answered cynically. Just not enough of them.
We meet the participants in the waning days of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Most of the hostilities had ended and Hussein withdrew from Kuwait, and one day an Iraqi soldier is captured with a map sticking out of his rear end. It is a map to millions in hidden gold bullion in the Kuwaiti desert. Four American soldiers: Archie Gates (Clooney), Troy Barlow (Wahlberg), Chief Elgin (Ice Cube), and Conrad Vig (Jonze) go AWOL to locate the gold on their own and enriching themselves, but of course it won't be that easy. Even after they find the gold, they need to find a way to transport it, and this involves making deals with Iraqi refugees who fear Saddam's wrath if they were to return to their homeland. The deal is: The refugees help transport the gold and the Americans lead them safely to the Iranian border.
Sounds simple enough, but then Three Kings meanders. Troy is captured by soldiers still loyal to Saddam and in between torture sequences is taught about why then-President George H.W. Bush really wanted Iraq out of Kuwait. Troy spouts off the canned, rehearsed response which was drilled into his head by his superiors, but Iraqis know the reasons were more economical than humanitarian the hard way. This scene begins in gripping fashion and simply runs too long. Other sequences have that feel also, ungainly mixing comedy and action.
I'm sure I'm not giving away a spoiler by suggesting that of the four main characters, at least one has to die and such a death would be dictated by marquee star power. Clooney provides the smooth, convincing leadership he would go on to provide in numerous films over his distinguished film career. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about without smugness or conceit. Ice Cube doesn't simply walk around with his trademark sneer here, he plays a man with a specific moral compass which at times goes off track because hey, $65 million is $65 million. How could it not in such a muddied situation? $65 million beats being a Detroit baggage handler. I also liked Cliff Curtis as the leader of the refugees who evokes sympathy and stands as the film's moral center.
Three Kings was released four years before the U.S. would be engaged in another war against Iraq under even more dubious circumstances; one which has been more costly in terms of lives lost, lives altered, and money spent. Even though Saddam Hussein was removed from power and executed, there is still instability in the region which brought about the birth of ISIS and civil unrest, with American soldiers caught in the crossfire. Three Kings ends on a happier note because the Gulf War itself was much shorter and the film could not possibly foresee the events of the next few years unfolding. Three Kings sets up a potentially fascinating view of a confused struggle masquerading as a gold heist, but we soon find these don't really mesh well together.
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