With an incredible amount of hype, and an all-star cast, Three Kings loomed on the movie horizon for what seemed like months since I saw the initial trailer.   Starring George Clooney (Archie Gates), "Marky" Mark Wahlberg (Troy Barlow), and Ice Cube (Chief Elgin) in post-war Kuwait, Three Kings sounded like a fun movie with explosions courtesy of Michael Bay.  Fortunately, Three Kings was very entertaining, but it was also something else.  Providing a commentary on the war from a leftist point-of-view, Three Kings points out the hypocrisy of war in a very strong, emotional way.  Three Kings is able to go beyond the point of entertainment and provide great characters and a spectacular plot and deliver a good movie.

The great thing about Three Kings is that it is able to mix a good amount of humor in with a good "war" movie.  Although not your standard "war" movie, Three Kings features plenty of action, but in a much different setting.  Archie, Troy, and Chief go on a hunt for Saddam's stolen Kuwaiti gold after finding an "ass map" with directions to Saddam's bunkers.  The plan was to go out early in the morning, take the gold, and come back unnoticed with over $2 million.   Of course, as in all movies, things don't go as planned.  The "three kings" decide to help the Kuwaiti rebels who were told by Bush to rise up against the Iraqis.  These rebels were then left without U.S. support and slaughtered similar to the Cuban uprisings.

The best action movie I've seen in a while, Three Kings is able to mesh together all the elements of a good movie with uproarious comedy and heart-pounding action.  George Clooney is able to firmly cement his place as a feature-film actor and Mark Wahlberg has finally made a good choice in taking this role.  Although Ice Cube's role is small, he still is able to contribute positively to this film.  The addition of Spike Jonze as Vig provides even more humor and is great in his role as he idolizes Troy.  Hopefully, Three Kings is a sign of things to come this October and it certainly gets this month off on the right foot.