Three Kings (1999)
87%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 19 nominations
Three Kings successfully blends elements of action, drama, and comedy into a thoughtful, exciting movie on the Gulf War
Three Kings is a movie that’s got it all: action, humor, politics, and even a little bit of heart. It’s like if Die Hard and Dr. Strangelove had a baby, and that baby grew up to be George Clooney. The shootouts are intense, the satire is biting, and the message is clear: war is hell, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Plus, Ice Cube is in it, and he’s always cool. If you’re looking for a movie that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking, Three Kings is the king of the hill.
Production Company(ies)
Black Mandala Onetti Brothers Productions, Rusty Robot
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Casa Grande, Arizona, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for graphic war violence, language and some sexuality
Year of Release
1999
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English, Arabic
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1999 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 11, 2000
Genre(s)
War
Keyword(s)
starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Nora Dunn, Jamie Kennedy, directed by David O Russell, written by David O Russell, John Ridley, war, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kirk Honeycutt, Radheyan Simonpillai, Lisa Alspector, Rick Groen, John Wrathall, Jay Boyar, James Hannaham, Emanuel Levy, Charles Cassady, Garth Franklin, Philip Martin, MPAA rating R, produced by Charles Roven, Edward L McDonnell, Paul Junger Witt
Worldwide gross: $107,752,036
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $193,417,909
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 716
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 21,092,466
US/Canada gross: $60,652,036
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $108,872,096
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 691
US/Canada opening weekend: $15,847,636
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $28,446,948
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 486
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $75,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $134,627,091
Production budget ranking: 263
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $72,496,689
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$13,705,871
ROI to date (est.): -7%
ROI ranking: 1,429
Mark Wahlberg – Sfc. Troy Barlow
Ice Cube – SSgt. Chief Elgin
Spike Jonze – Pfc. Conrad Vig
Nora Dunn – Adriana Cruz
Jamie Kennedy – PV2 Walter Wogaman
David O. Russell – Director/Writer
Charles Roven – Producer
Edward L. McDonnell – Producer
Paul Junger Witt – Producer
John Ridley – Writer
Director(s)
David O. Russell
Writer(s)
David O. Russell, John Ridley
Producer(s)
Charles Roven, Edward L. McDonnell, Paul Junger Witt
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 19 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (129) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (121) | Rotten (8)
[Russell] not only has designed an action-adventure laced with incendiary humor but a movie that wants to explore race, politics, war, the media and U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East. In large measure, he pulls it off with breathtaking aplomb.
October 25, 2019
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
It’s amazing how much action can be crammed into a movie about a war where most soldiers didn’t actually see any action. Three Kings has its fair share of shootouts, none that are merely squeezed in for guilty pleasures. Every shot fired is motivated by c
April 9, 2009 | Rating: 94/100
Radheyan Simonpillai
AskMen.com
TOP CRITIC
A damning yet idealistic satire about the motives behind U.S. foreign policy.
August 25, 2008
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
No, Three Kings is not a great picture, but it is a very good one, perhaps the first feature of merit to come out of the Gulf War.
April 25, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/4
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
What lingers in the mind far longer than the smart dialogue, the slightly cartoon characterisations or the neat feel-good ending is a vivid sense of the sickening nature of modern warfare.
December 2, 2002
John Wrathall
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Explosively good!
January 1, 2000
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Russell’s manic vision of modern warfare and slice-up critique of American foreign policy even provide something Kubrick sometimes lacked — a sense of humor.
May 27, 2022
James Hannaham
Out Magazine
One of Hollywood’s few films about the Gulf War, David O. Russell’s Three Kings is an original war feature that’s effective as a social satire as well as political critique.
February 4, 2011 | Rating: A-
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Violent, liberal George Clooney Gulf War caper.
December 15, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Charles Cassady
Common Sense Media
Ithis is a career making movie, then its writer/director David O. Russell who deserves the credit with this very creative effort from the debut filmmaker.
July 6, 2010
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Three Kings mightn’t be the best thought-out or most reassuring movie of the year, but the more I think about it, the more I’m sure that it is one of the best.
June 28, 2009 | Rating: 89/100
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
(The) screenplay abruptly changes tone after the first half-hour, eventually incorporating some genuinely harrowing sequences… The final picture becomes something noticeably deeper and smarter than its first reels suggest.
August 6, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette…
Plot
A small group of adventurous American soldiers in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War are determined to steal a huge cache of gold reputed to be hidden somewhere near their desert base. Finding a map they believe will take them to the gold, they embark on a journey that leads to unexpected discoveries, enabling them to rise to a heroic challenge that drastically changes their lives.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t mention anything goofy or funny about Three Kings, but it does highlight the star-studded cast, including George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze.
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