Three Kings, the movie where "every bullet counts," is no mere war tale. Although it has the distinction of being the second Hollywood film to use the Gulf War as its backdrop, the story of four soldiers setting out to steal Saddam Hussein's pilfered Kuwaiti gold bullion is more a morality tale with an action-comedy motif.

George Clooney, the film's most recognizable star, plays army Sergeant Major Archie Gates with an "I'm a bad ass" attitude, but later Clooney is able to pour on his distinctive charms when the character warms up to the Iraqis. Clooney isn't stretched much beyond his normal roles here, but the part proves to be a wise career move that solidifies his talents as a leading man. "Marky Mark" Wahlberg as Sergeant Troy Barlow fares even better in a role that affords more range than any of his previous ones. His portrayal as a soldier enduring a painful interrogation scene, and the subsequent softening of his heart after this event, is nearly perfectly portrayed.

The Chief, as depicted by the famous rap star Ice Cube, doesn't have as much to do as the other two. He is apparently a God-fearing Christian who believes the Lord Jesus protects him in battle with some kind of mystical ring of fire, and yet he feels no compulsion against robbery. Conversely, the breakthrough performance award goes to Spike Jonze as the hillbilly Private Conrad Vig. In turns both funny and poignant, Jonze's depiction of the crew's dullest member offers both perfect comic relief when it is needed and a fair bit of well-placed profundity besides.

Mention should also be made of the minor character Adriana Cruz as played by Nora Dunn. As an Emmy-obsessed reporter, Dunn is positively annoying in her  quest for a real good story. She finds one, of course, which only gratefully relieves the audience from hearing more of her cursing and whining. 

The director, David O. Russell, made two pictures previously: Spanking the Monkey (1994) and Flirting with Disaster (1996). Three Kings is his first film with a big studio budget, and it shows. The wastelands of the American West substitute nicely for the Arabian dessert, and the camera takes us into this world of brute military force and political potpourri with reckless relish.

Whereas Russell's screenplay meanders and lingers at points when it should press on, his abilities behind the camera are focused and confident. The action has an in-your-face style that is distinctly imaginative and occasionally overpowering. For example, during a description of what happens when a bullet gets lodged in a body, Russell's camera takes us from the point of entry into the innards to see how bile seeps into the bullet cavity. Minutes later when a cow moseys into a minefield, it is blown up and leaves a severed head and smears of palpable blood on the bystanders. Later, cranes are shown struggling in oil that has polluted a pond. War is never glorified here, but shown in all its madcap ugliness; the depicted violence serves the plot rather than acting as a substitute for a good story. 

Russell also makes effective use of the flashback convention, as he does in a quick, comic montage when the soldiers reminisce about job foibles before becoming enlisted. In homage to Saving Private Ryan perhaps, Three Kings overuses the staggered, muddied film effect during the shoot-outs, and the movie also abruptly, almost jarringly switches gears many times. The overall effect, however, works like a patchwork of American pop art, holding together as an interesting bullet ride through this caper. Given such cocksure film-making, Russell will rightly and quickly rise in the ranks of acclaimed movie directors.

The best part about Three Kings is neither the appreciable acting and directing talent, however, but the story itself. The teaser suggests a sort of modern day Western set in a war where the central characters are cowboy-like, gun-happy thieves bent on retrieving a treasure at all costs. This supposed premise is entirely misleading. Instead, the audience will be treated to a more satisfying story of characters changed by compassion. At first, the would-be bandits begin their pursuit of gold with great gusto, but when faced by the condition of Iraqis rebels and starving townspeople, the heroes plans are altered again and again. Charity enters the ring with greed, and the anticipation of seeing which one wins the bout makes for commendable drama. The excellently rendered tension between right and wrong choices is illustrated beautifully in this movie, one of the most morally relevant films of this year's crop and a good bet for an Oscar nomination. 

Steven S. Baldwin   10/19/99