Three Kings is clearly one of the most original, fresh, and provocative films of this year. First, there was Rushmore, The Matrix, Southpark, The Sixth Sense, The Iron Giant, and now Three Kings. Although not nearly as great, Three Kings is thoroughly set in the vein of Great, absurdist warfare movies like M.A.S.H. and Apocalypse Now. Had I been someone who solely relied on movie trailers to encourage or discourage me from seeing a picture, I would have regrettably missed out on this exciting film. For me, George Clooney has yet to be a successful leading man at the box office, and Ice Cube . well, Ice Cube is Ice Cube. So, a movie having those two in it wouldn't exactly make me salivate at the chance to part with my time and money to go see it. In fact, before seeing Three Kings, I had more respect for the talents of Mark Wahlberg than either of those two. Nonetheless, my doubts about the film were for naught!
Three Kings is so multi-faceted that it cannot be pigeonholed into a 60-second vision byte. Yes, there is action as the movie trailer overemphasizes, but if that is all you're interested in, then this film is not for you. The action in Kings is not for its own sake, but is merely another element in the story, just like dialogue and visuals. Too many times, persons who make movie trailers cater to the lowest common denominator - as though no one the audience has ever seen a truck blow up before. How misleading! Instead, Three Kings is hilarious; action-packed; thought-provoking; cynical; balletically violent; at times, beautifully sorrowful; bitingly sharp in its commentary on American consumerism and materialism, and mercilessly critical of the Bush administration's Gulf War policies. It's the best film I've seen since The Sixth Sense. Only, Three Kings is wholly more apt, and deservedly so, at becoming a classic.
Rating: 7.5 to 8/10
Three Kings is so multi-faceted that it cannot be pigeonholed into a 60-second vision byte. Yes, there is action as the movie trailer overemphasizes, but if that is all you're interested in, then this film is not for you. The action in Kings is not for its own sake, but is merely another element in the story, just like dialogue and visuals. Too many times, persons who make movie trailers cater to the lowest common denominator - as though no one the audience has ever seen a truck blow up before. How misleading! Instead, Three Kings is hilarious; action-packed; thought-provoking; cynical; balletically violent; at times, beautifully sorrowful; bitingly sharp in its commentary on American consumerism and materialism, and mercilessly critical of the Bush administration's Gulf War policies. It's the best film I've seen since The Sixth Sense. Only, Three Kings is wholly more apt, and deservedly so, at becoming a classic.
Rating: 7.5 to 8/10