Seen it all before, just set in another war! (Three Kings (DVD))

Member Name: Judgee

Product:	Three Kings (DVD)
Date:	05/09/02 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good action

Disadvantages: Humour doesn't really work

Having recently purchased my first stand-alone DVD player (I have a useless one on my computer) I have been hitting the DVD stocks of my local store. Unfortunately the stocks are even more limited than the choice of films on video and I have already seen most of them anyway! Still, this is not necessarily a bad thing and I have found a few entertaining films that I might not have otherwise seen. One of these films was Three Kings. Viewing the trailers made me think it was all action and a very weak plot. To be honest, it was not very different from my initial impressions, but I did find it more entertaining than I expected.


Cast/Characters
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Mark Wahlberg - Sergeant First Class Troy Barlow
George Clooney - Major Archie Gates
Ice Cube - Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin
Spike Jonze - Private First Class Conrad Vig
Nora Dunn - Adriana Cruz

The Story
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Immediately after the Gulf war, American troops remain in Iraq in order to keep the peace and oversee the surrender of Iraqi forces. It is during this process of disarmament that Sergeant Troy Barlow, Chief Elgin and Private Conrad Vig make an interesting discovery. Hidden on an Iraqi soldier (I wont say wear it was hidden!) they find a map disclosing the location of some of Saddam Hussains' Hidden Bunkers. This is of great interest to them, not for military purposes but for financial reasons. It is rumoured that Saddam Hussain has stolen valuable items from Kuwait during the conflict and it is these items that are supposedly hidden in the bunkers.


The group decides to check the validity of the map by comparing it to aerial photographs. Whilst doing so they are confronted by Major Archie Gates who decides that he would also like a piece of the action for himself. So, with the party complete, they set off to find the stolen items, in particular the stash of gold and embark on an adventure that would see them question their own moral val

ues.
To make matters worse, they are also being chased by ambitious reporter, Adriana Cruz, can it get any worse?. I will say no more on the plot to enable people to see this film for themselves.


Actors/Acting
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Well there were a few surprises with regards to the acting in this film. George Clooney is one of the few "pretty boy" actors than can actually act. So his fine performance did not surprise me. Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube on the other hand, were a lot better than I was expecting. This film did not really require a lot of acting talent or ability, but they make the most of the limited dialogue and were very convincing. Helped along with the aid of Spike Jonze as the groups token Goofball, Private Vig. They do make a believable group of soldiers in a plot that was difficult to take seriously.


Action/Humour
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There are two main elements that director David Russell tries to combine within this film, action and humour. The action is fast paced, with some unique camera angles, combining staggered film shots and slow motion sequences to good effect. He is spot on in this area and action fanatics will find plenty to enjoy. Unfortunately, I feel he was less successful when dealing with the lighter moments. Perhaps it was his attempts to combine humour with death and violence that let him down. It has been done before, far more successfully. Indeed, perhaps he should study the techniques of Director Quentin Tarantino who showed just how it should be done in Reservoir Dogs (1992) and even more so in Pulp Fiction (1994). That being said, some of the humour does work in the early stages of the film, but as the course of the story unfolds, it does tend to struggle.


DVD Extras
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The menu list four options to start off with and some of these lead to further options. They are as follows:

*** Play Movie***

Surprisingly enough, this option sta
rts t
he movie!
(Alright, so this is not strictly an extra but it on the menu list, so tough!)

***Scene Selections***

There are 31 scene selections to chose from and these are varied enough to keep you flicking for hours should you chose to do so. They are set out in groups of six, with pictures to help you remember which is which. Unfortunately I did not find the pictures displayed very helpful and you will find that it is very much a case of trial an error when looking for any one particular scene. This does seem to be a common feature on the DVD's that I have watched so far, so nothing special really!

***Special Features***

For me, this is where things started to get interesting!

~Cast & Crew~ Just a listing of the credits!

~Commentary by David Russell~ Now this I found quite engrossing. He describes how he first got interested in making this movie upon viewing the tagline description "Heist set in the aftermath of the war in the Persian Golf" and goes on to describe his influences. He goes on to explain his interest in the contrast between the horrors of this war and the party atmosphere created by the soldiers, most of whom failed to see any action at all. I did find this extra feature very interesting, but perhaps it will only really appeal to particularly keen film fanatics.

~Commentary by Producers Charles Roven and Ed McDonnell~ Some interesting facts mentioned by this duo, how the cast were chosen for instance. Tom Cruise was apparently first choice for the main role played by Clooney, but turned it down to star in Mission impossible 2. Again, this extra is more for the die hard film nuts, their voices do tend to ramble and can get a bit boring. Worth checking out if you want to hear more about the filming from behind the scenes, but tougher listening compared to David Russell's commentary!

~Under the Bunker~ Behind-the-scenes documentary including interviews
with the
cast, director, producers, etc.
This is fascinating and definitely worth viewing. Basically it covers everything that the commentaries discuss, with some good on the set film clips. It also contains interviews with the technical advisors who were actually there and fought in the war. These Technical Military advisors can offer great insight into the mentality of the soldiers who were forced to stand by whilst Iraqi civilians were brutalised and murdered. Technical difficulties involving the terrain and problems with the weather for instance, are all explored here. The best extra on the whole DVD from my point of view.


Overall View
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The film is very entertaining and the action engrossing. I did think the humour failed to work throughout the entire film. Although I am not sure if this was due to the fact that it was badly done, or more a case that I felt uncomfortably laughing immediately after someone had been shot in the head for example. If you can put aside the moral issues, perhaps you may find it funnier than I did. The storyline is interesting but not really plausible. It is also not entirely original, the film Kellys hero's tackled a similar scenario first many, many years ago, albeit based on a different war. Rated 18 it is definitely only suitable for adults.


Relatively new to the world of DVD extras, I have limited experience in which to make a comparison in that area. More extras than some DVD's, less than others. The behind the scenes documentary and the commentary by the director are definitely worth a look. But I do not feel that it is really worth buying the DVD just for these features, as I feel that they would not stand up to a repeat viewing. Definitely a DVD to hire if not to purchase though!



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