Review of Three Kings

Introduction

I didn’t know much about this one to be honest. I bought it on the strength of George Clooney really, having seen allot of his movies and only disliking one of them (Out of Sight – yawn!) I thought this would be a safe bet for some Saturday night entertainment. The story involves a small group of American soldiers stationed in Kuwait. The Gulf War is over and a cease fire is in effect. These soldiers stumble across a map showing the location of Sadams hidden bunkers in Kuwait, one of which contains many million dollars worth of gold bullion. So, off they trek to get their hands on the gold. Sounds like it could be a fun romp.

Video

I really hate having to comment on the image quality, DVD is far superior to anything on VHS that nearly every transfer looks good. This is a bit more different than usual though. At the start you actually get a warning about the way certain scenes were shot, something along the lines of “certain scenes were shot using altered colours and visual effects to increases the dramatic and emotional effect”. So was the picture any good? Well, certain scenes looked a little on the ropy side but these may well have been the afore mentioned attempts to make it more emotional. So, casting aside those scenes, the rest of the movie is very clear and reasonably sharp.

With regards to the overall look of the movie it could be best described as bland. It is set in the deserts of Kuwait so there is very little scenery, no hills etc, just lots of flat sandy land. What else could it have been though? :)

Audio

The customary Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is here in full effect. There are some very nice set pieces throughout the movie, explosions are meaty and carry a nice bass rumble and you can never knock a helicopter flyby in Dobly Digital 5.1 – I would swear that there is some sort of clause with the Dolby people that every movie has to have a helicopter in it somewhere :).

Features

This disc comes up trumps in the extras department. You got behind the scenes documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, director`s video journal, an intimate look inside the acting process with Ice Cube, stills gallery, hidden bunkers, deleted scenes, interactive menus etc. I am still ploughing through many of these extras but the intimate look at the acting process with Ice Cube is very amusing indeed and shows the general tone in which the movie was made. The deleted scenes also have a directors commentary, I always find it intersting hearing why they left out certain scenes. An impressive selection of extras, but seeing as it is badged a “special edition” it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Conclusion

Everything is looking good so far, so why don’t I really like this movie? I think the main reason is that it tries to be all things to everyone. There are some humorous moments, some moving moments, some action set pieces . . . they just don’t hang together well. Each part isn’t really done well enough to stand on it’s own either so the whole things feels cobbled together.

The opening sequence is very funny and leads you to expect far more laughs than you actually get. As the movie goes on there are some attempts to shock you about the horrors of war that never really work. The are 2 saving graces however. Firstly the last 15-20 minutes are quite engaging (if you are still watching by then) and secondly George Clooney does his usual great job of acting cool.

I guess that some of my lack of interest also stems from the movies setting. The Gulf War just doesn’t emote the same level of feeling as movies set against, say, a World War II backdrop. I can see this movie being far higher rated in the States though.

As a special edition DVD it is a good package. Good (if not outstanding) picture, very good sound and a healthy does of extras make the disc a winner. On the movie side I didn’t dislike it as such, I sat through to the end and the last 20 minutes helped save it somewhat. I can’t help but feel had the director concentrated his efforts more in certain directions it would have been much better.