The first half of this film is pretty audacious and playful. The
ploy - stolen directly from "Kelly's Heroes" - has four
Gulf War servicemen scheming to steal gold previously stolen by
Saddam Hussein from the Kuwaitis. Sharp and funny insights into
the culture clash of Americans and Iraqis dominate the opening.
Coupled with eye-catching camera work, taut banter, and clever
forays into fantasy (the recreation of the route of a bullet into
the human body is noteworthy), the films hurtles at break-neak
speed, and you never
really notice the complete lack of plot or character. It plays
like
back-to-back dazzling music videos. Best, it embarks on setting
down a mentality for the Gulf War veteran.
The problems ensue when Three Kings moves from the witty to the
message-laden. It becomes clear that the film is interested in
being more than a highly literate black comedy with the Gulf War
as backdrop. Soon, faced with the horrors of war (the general
reality that wars kill civilians and specifically, the rock-and-a-hard-place
of Iraqis who rose against Saddam without U.S. support), our
heroes become changed men. Of course, up until this point, they
are merely cleverly written cardboard cut-outs, so it is
impossible to determine from where or what they have changed. But
what the hell, if the film remains as well-paced and written up
to this point, fine, I thought. Make them the cavalry.
Unfortunately, the film descends into hackneyed "I have met
the enemy and he is me tripe" and you will find that all
ensuing plot contrivances are well known to you. Worse, the
political moralizing becomes oppressive, and the sweeping feel-good
ending is disastrous. During the second half, we are informed
with all of the subtlety of a 2 x 4 to the noggin that the war
was about oil, not the liberation of Kuwait; that there is a
human cost to civilian deaths; that war is indeed hell; and, most
importantly, that we can all get along. Paramount is the theme
that we ugly Americans discount the
lives of Iraqis, whom were slaughtered to the tune of tens of
thousands during the war. Of course, in the film's zippier
moments, Arab extras are dispatched by the bushel, but the really
important music is reserved for the near- deaths or deaths of
white men. Still, the film's first half is damn near flawless,
and you should be used to the amateur moralizing and concocted
big finish.
Moreover, the quartet - George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube
and Spike Jones - are all quite good, as are the people given the
thankless Arab roles.
