Three Kings 1999

Critics score:
94 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Roger Ebert, At the Movies: It has the freedom and recklessness of Oliver Stone or Robert Altman in their mad-dog days, and a visual style that hungers for impact. Read more

Susan Stark, Detroit News: Artsy style overpowers message in Three Kings. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: On any hip-o-meter, Three Kings rules. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Three Kings is a dark, zesty, live-wire action-adventure comedy. Read more

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader: A damning yet idealistic satire about the motives behind U.S. foreign policy. Read more

Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A sardonic, rock-'em, sock-'em Gulf War flick. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: David O. Russell's nervy attempt to reinvent the war movie and a further step in the evolution of an audacious and entertaining filmmaker. Read more

Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle: Vigor, intelligence and eyes kept open makes Three Kings a top-of-the-line war-action movie. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Three Kings takes a comfortable proletarian view of Desert Storm. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: 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. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: Ultimately, instead of drawing us in, his swagger and the dazzle of his pyrotechnics keep us at a remove from the savagery. They become abstractions, too. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Interesting and occasionally exhilarating. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Three Kings is one of the most exciting Hollywood action films in years, and the best Vietnam movie since Apocalypse Now. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's George Clooney's best showcase to date -- a picture that is as strong as the war itself was dubious and one-sided. Read more

Time Out: The last reel descends into a muddle of trade-offs, heroic about-turns and romanticised rebels, but this is defiant, provocative cinema; Russell may yet prove a film-maker to treasure. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: The first Hollywood feature to take on the 1991 Gulf War, Three Kings does so in an impudently comic, stylistically aggressive and, finally, very thoughtful manner. Read more