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Sometimes a movie’s on-set problems exceed the final product itself. With a temperamental director, a demanding actor, a desert set, and an escalating budget – Three Kings’ production was a perfect storm of onset horror. Never having seen Three Kings before, I have certainly read about the tantrum-prone set in many Hollywood behind-the-scenes books, and my hopes for it were slim. For every movie preceded by a reputation of onset drama that turns out good (Apocalypse Now), there are many more that turn out worse (Burlesque, Waterworld, Troy). While the troubled production usually leads to a terrible film, Three Kings was surprisingly (to me at least) a fun watch.

Starring the motley crew of a post-ER George Clooney, a pre-box office draw Mark Wahlberg, and the relevant-at-the-time Ice Cube, Three Kings is an unusual mix of war-drama seriousness, art-house experimental visual flare, and flavor-of-the-month referential fun. However, under the wild eye of David O. Russell, the potential turkey soared like an eagle with critics and didn’t do too shabby at the box office, either.

Beginning at the end of the Gulf War, Three Kings follows four soldiers (played by the aforementioned actors as well as Spike Jonze … yes, the one you are thinking of) who find a map of stolen Kuwait gold. Determined to do a quick search-and-seize of the fortune to keep for themselves, the soldiers quickly see a bigger picture at hand when they get entangled with desperate denizens of the desert village in which the gold is hidden.

Highly visceral, much of the character information is literally spelled out right away during a montage of celebratory drinking and debauchery. While the typewriter text across the screen is later abandoned, I enjoyed how Russell applied the technique. While it is better to show than say, sometimes the opposite is much more time-efficient. Although text can’t build character development, the actors commanding performances and the dense dialogue certainly do.

I can get behind Russell’s idea of making the film more engaging through visuals whether it is color tints or deeper blacks or ultra-bright yellows. However, some of the choppy edits made me think my DVD player was skipping, and the defined color technique that is usually seen more in summer blockbusters seemed slightly out of place here.

Warner Bros. also must have felt that the visuals were out of place, too. Before the movie played, this message popped up: “The makers of Three Kings used visual distortion and unusual colors in some scenes of this film. They intentionally used these unconventional techniques to enhance the emotional intensity of the story line.” I enjoy an unusual look to a film, but when the filmmaker has to ensure you that your TV isn’t broke, there is a problem. The visuals enhance the eye appeal of the film, but it certainly doesn’t enhance the emotions or the plot. If anything, it pushes the intensity overboard where you aren’t feeling much at all.

What draws in the emotions are the actors, not the visual style. Luckily, Three Kings is loaded with fine performances. I was surprised to find myself most engaged by Wahlberg’s fine performance. Playing the hotshot soldier, Wahlberg has to immediately transform as he turns into a helpless hostage. Walloping to whimpering, Wahlberg walks away with the show. Russell directed Wahlberg again in I Heart Huckabees and The Fighter.

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