The film of the week this time is THREE KINGS.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120188/
The Gulf war is difficult to make a good film story out of. Any war is really, but The Gulf war wasn't that long ago. With recent wars like that you have to be very careful how you handle the material. Thankfully, this film treats the war with respect and never feels like it is mocking it despite the moments of comedy. Three Kings is pretty similar plot wise to the war film Kelly's heroes. In fact when it came out I remember people saying it was a rip off. Honestly other than the plot of a group of soldiers working together to steal gold, the similarities are not worth mentioning. This film was directed by David O. Russell, who some may know as the man who directed the baffling film I Heart Huckabees. I am not a fan of that one personally, but I respect Russell for being one of the few directors these days with a somewhat unique vision.This is easily his best film because even though it has characters who openly support the war, and are openly religious, it never feels like it is preaching any kind of message.
If anything it is an anti war film about how seeing attrocities can change the way we act. Many soldiers in The Gulf War didn't even see much combat, so naturally they would be a bit enthusiastic when the idea of it becomes a reality. When it happens in the film it never feels like exploitation. There is a part of the film where Clooney's character describes the effect a bullet has on someone's insides. This is shown in very gross detail, and later elaborated on when a soldier is injured. The moments of comedy help make this film stand out from the crowd, as do the interesting characters played very well by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube. Another part of the film I liked was that it portrayed everyone as being human. Even the people who kidnap one of the main characters have some humanity in them, which makes the decisions they make a lot more emotional. This is one of the best films of the 90's, and one I highly recommend.