Three Kings

Play trailer

Three Kings

R

1999

1h 55m

War

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

131 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Just after the end of the Gulf War, four American soldiers decide to steal a cache of Saddam Hussein's hidden gold. Led by Sergeant Major Archie Gates, three of the men are rescued by rebels, but Sergeant Troy Barlow is captured and tortured by Iraqi intelligence. The Iraqi rebels beg for the American trio to help fight against the impending arrival of Hussein's Elite Guard. The men agree to fight in return for help rescuing Troy.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Three Kings successfully blends elements of action, drama, and comedy into a thoughtful, exciting movie on the Gulf War.

Read Critics Reviews

Kirk Honeycutt

The Hollywood Reporter

10/25/2019

[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.

Go to Full Review

Radheyan Simonpillai

AskMen.com

04/09/2009

94/100

It's amazing how much action can be crammed into a movie about a war where most soldiers didn't actually see any action.

Go to Full Review

Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

08/25/2008

A damning yet idealistic satire about the motives behind U.S. foreign policy.

Go to Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

12/13/2023

7/10

A war satire in which O' Russell, indirectly, mocks the foreign policy of the United States regarding the Gulf War. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Chuck Klosterman

Akron Beacon Journal

10/27/2023

3/4

Three Kings does offer nice comedic interplay between its lead performers and a compelling visual gimmick, all of which adds up to a strong (if not necessarily soul-shaking) production.

Go to Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

09/02/2022

B-

It has a distinctive look and feel, an atmosphere of burnout and chaos; it launches at a high energy level and generally stays there. The buzz, however, wears off fast.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Mark C.

@mrpiggy1992 Jan 16

Best film of 1999 especially the cast Wahlberg, George Clooney and Ice Cube

See more

Jed I

Sep 27

5.7/10 — "Mediocre"/"Passable"

See more

Blu B

Aug 25

A Classic War Flick. It's chaotic, unrefined, and slightly dated at times. Good music but sometimes the bongos feel out of place but are distinct for a war flick. Good editing overall but it can feel a bit like it's showing off. The weird music video editing in the village fight doesn't add anything and so out of place. Lots of slow motion, fast cuts, and sometimes it feels like it needs to settle down. Everything else though is really good. The whole storyline with the reporter feels like that could've been cut and not lose much. Even though it adds more context to the war and why it was pointless, there really isn't enough context here for someone who doesn't already know about or lived through the Gulf War to understand why it was. This film doesn't explain that very well. But the core gold hunt does come together with a great ending despite jumping around in the middle with the reporter, Whalberg, and the core group. Clooney and Whalberg are really good here and are the highlights acting wise. The color saturation look reminds me of a Bay movie like Bad Boys. This has a Hurt Locker indie type feel at times but also a adventure movie mixed with war and it does work surpisingly well by the end. It has great direction too. Anyone who is a fan of war movies, unorthodox adventures, the director or any actors in this should check this out.

See more

rex w

Jul 23

"Three Kings" is an underrated gem.

See more

Orion P

May 27

5 stars would have been on the table if it weren't for the football/helicopter scene. GREAT MOVIE, otherwise.

See more

Faiz D

May 13

A disturbing yet funny war movie with a great message.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

David O. Russell

Director

George Clooney

Maj. Archie Gates

Mark Wahlberg

Sfc. Troy Barlow

Ice Cube

SSgt. Chief Elgin

Spike Jonze

Pfc. Conrad Vig

Nora Dunn

Adriana Cruz

Beautiful People

80%

85%

Beautiful People

Watchlist

Inglourious Basterds

89%

88%

Inglourious Basterds

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Inglourious Basterds

Live!

47%

43%

Live!

Watchlist

Best Men

13%

40%

Best Men

Watchlist

Enemy at the Gates

53%

82%

Enemy at the Gates

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

25 Best Action Movies: The Highest-Rated of Each Year Since 1998

5 Reasons Why Three Kings Is the Best War Satire of the Last 20 Years

10 Movie Classics the Oscars Ignored

View more photos

Synopsis

Just after the end of the Gulf War, four American soldiers decide to steal a cache of Saddam Hussein's hidden gold. Led by Sergeant Major Archie Gates, three of the men are rescued by rebels, but Sergeant Troy Barlow is captured and tortured by Iraqi intelligence. The Iraqi rebels beg for the American trio to help fight against the impending arrival of Hussein's Elite Guard. The men agree to fight in return for help rescuing Troy.

Director: David O. Russell
Producer: Charles Roven, Edward L. McDonnell, Paul Junger Witt
Screenwriter: David O. Russell, John Ridley
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers, Atlas Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: War, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $60.7M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now