'Three KIngs' action packed
By Kristopher Hanson
Daily Forty-Niner
As the Gulf War ended and American troops
started pulling out of the Iraqi desert, rumors swirled that Saddam Hussien
had hidden a large stash of stolen gold in a desert bunker.
In the film "Three Kings," four adventurous
American soldiers find a map leading to the riches and ponder heading out
to retrieve the stash.
Iraqi troops have shown little resistance
so far, and a cease-fire has been agreed upon between the two nations.
So getting the loot sounds simple, right?
As Special Forces Captain Archie Gates
(George Clooney) rationalizes, "Saddam stole it from the shieks; I have
no problem stealing it from Saddam...Just one stash would be easy to take
...and that would be enough to get us out of our day jobs."
Well, as Gates, Army Sergeant
Troy Elgin (Mark Wahlberg), Private Conrad Vig (Spike Jonz) and Staff Sergeant
Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) soon find out, things are more complicated than
just grabbing the stash and heading home.
First, they must go AWOL and illegally
sneak back behind enemy lines to reach the bunker - an act that could get
them court-martialed if caught.
They are then are confronted by the moral
dilemna of taking the goods, which rightfully belong to Kuwati citizens.
Lastly, the soldiers witness the brutality
of marauding Iraqi troops on uprising refugees.
The film is a sometimes humorous, othertimes
serious, but ultimately entertaining film that deals with not only the
repercussions of war and its effect on refugees, but also the moral conflict
one faces with taking money and running when those left behind are so desperately
in need of help.
The movie, directed by David O. Russell
(Flirting with Disaster), also addresses the stereotyping many American
soldiers held of Iraqi citizens. The soldiers ultimately realize
that the refugees are similar to themselves, they want Saddam out and peace
in.
This "story is about the journey that a
handful of these American soldiers made when their ignorance was replaced
with understanding," said producer Ed McDonnell.
Using innovative filming techniques, Russell
and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sidel depict, in slow-motion, the effect
that a bullet passing into a personís body has.
Throughout the film, this technique is
used so as not to romanticize the violence of war. It shows what
really happens when someone gets shot.
The film's one major shoot-out scene is
done in slow-motion and graphically portrays the pain and agony one feels
when shot.
Also, the film manages to avoid the bloodbaths
that recent war films have shown.
Using humor, like when Conrad screams in
pain after getting a splinter while planting a bomb, lightens the movie
up.
The characters are played well by the cast.
As Gates, Clooney is a career soldier,
cynical and detached. He plays the role of a hardened officer who
still has a strong committment to helping others in need.
Wahlberg goes beyond his usual character
of the naive guy, and develops his character as the loyal, proud American
who realizes that the politics of the Gulf War are not what Washington
has led him to beleive.
Cube, as the deeply religious Elgin, confronts
his own humanity and questions the purpose of war and its effects on a
man's heart and soul.
Redneck Conrad comes to realize that his
perception of war as a chance to fulfill his adventurous fantasies.
He comes to realize that the Iraqiís are not the "towelheads" he thought
they were.
The film ends on a heroic note, as the
gang of AWOL soldiers deliver a group of refugees into safe territory Iran.
While "Three Kings" could have developed
its characters and more thoroughly, it was still funny, action-packed,
but not overly violent film that will give you a better understanding of
the aftermath of war and its repercussions. |
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