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Clooney is fine as the smooth-talking brains behind the mission, in a role well within his usual range. With some rapid character changes when he stumbles upon the distressed villagers, Clooney manages to make it seem within his emotional arc, but it is more a mark against some lazy writing. Three Kings was released in 1999, on this same October weekend where Clooney’s new film, The Ides of March, is hitting theaters. Since Three Kings, Clooney has expanded his acting (and directing) repertoire with some serious dramas that make him one of the most interesting leading men in Hollywood, balancing art-house subjects with mainstream aesthetics.

I am always surprised when rappers make decent actors and Ice Cube, earlier in his career, gave some fine performances. However, in Three Kings, he is the third wheel. Not given much to do but yell in the desert sand, Ice Cube melts in with the background for a rather forgettable part. The standout actor is director Spike Jonze. Friends with David O. Russell who had to champion the studio to give him the part, Jonze is surprisingly effective as the scrawny soldier out of his element. Why did he cast Jonze for the part? The only answer I could come up with is “why not?” Three Kings certainly did not bite the Being John Malkovich director with the acting bug, for this movie is still his only major acting credit. But the inexperience and nerves Jonze must have felt on set, certainly and effectively (I think more by luck than skill) transcend into his character.

Russell is not a director who is known for his gentle ways on set (YouTube “I Hate Huckabees” and you’ll see what I mean), and he certainly found no good graces on Three Kings. With reports of verbal arguments with Clooney and even the actor punching him in the face, Three Kings quickly turned into the focus of gossip. By telling by the film’s wild visuals, I can see why David O. Russell might not be the easiest director to reign in.

Budgeted anywhere between the rumored $48 million (IMDb) to $75 million (boxofficemojo.com), I would suspect it came in closer to the latter. Although Kuwait and Iraq were substituted with Arizona, some of the action sequences were impressively CGI-free. Although a hit among the genre of “political satire” and “modern day war” films, Three Kings debuted to a ho-hum $15.8 million ($24.9 million adjusted) in second place, certainly less than expected with such a stellar cast who could arguably of been more in their media prime back then compared to now.

With raves from critics (the film is at a shockingly high 94% on Rotten Tomatoes), and good (but not as great as the critics) audience word of mouth, Three Kings stuck around, ending its tour of duty with $60.6 million ($95.2 million today).

In 2004, Warner Bros planned a re-release of Three Kings with a short documentary shot by Russell to play beforehand due to the film’s renewed relevancy with the Iraq War. However, Warner Bros pulled the project last minute for unknown reasons. Still, Three Kings is with us for its interesting plot and even more engaging characters.

Not a definitive view on the Gulf War, with a satirical lens, Russell’s commanding Three Kings might have been a battle to get made, but it plays with expert protocol.

7 out of 10

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