Three Kings ( David O. Russell, 1999) : USA

Reviewed by Maria Loza. Viewed at The Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

The film “Three Kings” is a comedic action film. It’s based on three soldiers in Iraq searching for stolen gold in a small town taken over by rebellion soldiers. The soldiers go through hell and back trying to take the gold back. However, their own army and the rebels will become their biggest enemies in the process. 

The cinematography had some interesting editing choices. During the fighting scenes, there was an interesting edit when the bullets were shot. Whenever the bullets were shot, there was a slow-motion effect, the shot followed the bullet. Another interesting editing choice made by the directors was they added scenes where it showed what happens when a bullet enters the body. The directors mentioned that they wanted to show what happens to the organs inside. I think that it added a lot to the movie because it showed the gravity of the wound.

The film’s use of comedy is only seen in the first part of the film because the film takes a turn and the situation becomes more serious and doesn’t stop. The film begins with the characters having a dynamic similar to dumb and dumber, with characters playing stereotypical roles, especially with the character Conrad playing the stereotypical idiot. However, when the four soldiers went in search of the money. There is a lot of violence within the film and the movie no longer becomes funny. Especially with death being a constant factor in this process of getting back. However, it does a heartfelt ending that leaves hope for peace.

I think this film also tries to The rebels say they were no longer at war because of the compromise but the rebels continue to terrorize the people. The media said that the war was over and that soldiers would now be coming home but the soldiers continue to fight the rebels. This is brought up when troy calls his wife to rescue him but his wife mentioned the media saying that the war is over and in his panicked state, troy states that the rebels are still out there attacking. It’s also portrayed in the journalist character, who continues to follow them in search of a story. Then, when she actually does coverage of the events going on, she only covers the end result and none of the events that happened in the process, the rebels fighting, the attacks, the tear gas incidents, etc. She only showed the end result of the soldiers helping the people cross the border. These are events that are there to show that the media isn’t right most of the time. There’s a lot more happening than what’s being reported on the news. Teaching the audience to not always trust what’s being said.

I would recommend this film because it has a theme of war and violence that uses different paths to talk about things no one else does. They want to get the audience to question the media, the effects of war on the people and even the sense of what soldiers go through on the battlefield. It’s a great film that has action, comedy, but it also gets you thinking.