Beginning at the end of war, Three Kings is a blistering film that is both fearlessly comic and down-right serious in tone as it balances the ravages of the Persian Gulf War with the confusion that comes at the end of all wars.  Its setting might be of war, but Three Kings, directed by David O. Russell, is much more than an action film based around the discovery of a map hidden up the ass of an Iraqi captive.  Ironically still relevant, Russell’s quick-cutting film juxtaposes the themes of man’s greed and matters of the heart with skilled marksmanship.

Tackling a narrative that involves the victors and the victims of war in unfamiliar territory, Three Kings explains how four American soldiers, reservist Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg),  the insanely ignorant Conrad Vig (Spike Jonze), Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin (Ice Cube), and Special Forces Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) divert their attention from liberating Kuwait and embark, going from bunker to bunker through the dunes of the desert, on a far more greedy and dangerous mission that will secure their civilian lives back home in wealth and riches.

Full of wonderfully surreal moments involving exploding tankers of milk, graphic explanations of what a bullet can do to a man’s innards, exploding cows, oil fields and footballs, Three Kings shows just how unafraid or just simply ignorant these men are of their unstable surroundings.  The film, under Russell’s direction, is also high-spirited with a keen sense of biting humor that shows itself through the Americana patterns sewn into the scenic edges of the film.

The twist in the Russell’s screenplay, based on an idea by John Ridley, comes from the rationalization the men find descending upon their backs when they discover the consequences of finding gold.  Safety and greed aren’t usually hand-in-hand when presented against the insanity of war.  And for these four soldiers, the choice between fight or flight isn’t an obvious one.

The drama of Three Kings is always its purpose, but the surroundings, the intelligent humor, the graphic violence, and the genuine suspense builds until the film catches fire with moral brilliance as the men are faced with situations they simply can’t ignore across a war-torn landscape that sees a child opening fire against his enemies.

Three Kings can be funny, frightening and intense and achieve all these notes within a few minutes of screen time.  Films don’t get much better than this.

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - October 12, 2010
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German SDH, Italian SDH, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Mandarin (Simplified), Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Swedish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; German: Dolby Digital 5.1; Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1; Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)

Gritty and surreal, Three Kings, in its Hi-Def debut, doesn’t seem too far removed from Russell’s original look of the film.  The 1080p transfer is presented in its original aspect ratio and – while most modern war films now look this way – is stylized with grainy texture and blown-out sheets of white.  The colors are saturated in deep earth-like colors, but maintain an even balance that captures the duplicity of the film’s themes.  The audio is presented in a dynamically solid DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that thunderously presents itself with only the tiniest of indifference to the dialogue when explosions are going off.

Supplements:

Commentaries:

• The first commentary features Russell explaining his work on the film and the changes he made to the original story.  At length, he discusses his project, the writing, the casting, and the actual shooting of the film.
• The second commentary features producers Charles Roven and Edward L. McDonnell discussing the film, but it is not nearly as effective as the first commentary.

Special Features:

There are six featurettes, but not nearly as detailed as Russell’s first commentary.  While the interview with DP Sigel is interesting, the rest are tad more than simple filler for a movie that deserves a lot more attention – especially in light of the ten plus years America has spent back in Iraq.

• Under the Bunker: On the Set of 'Three Kings' (21 mins)
• On the Set of 'Three Kings' with Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke (10 mins)
• The Cinematography of 'Three Kings:' An Interview with Director of Photography Newton Thomas Sigel (7 mins)
• Director David O. Russell's 'Three Kings' Video Journal (13 mins)
• An Intimate Look Inside the Acting Process with Ice Cube (2:21 mins)
• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary from Director David O. Russell (7 mins)

Trailers:

• Original Three Kings trailer (2 mins)

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