"What's it like?" they ask. You can't say it's a comedy, because plenty of people won't find it funny. Can you say it's a heist film? Only if you're narrow-minded. An action movie? Yeah, maybe, but this isn't comic book action here.

Soldiers at the tail end of the Gulf War get a lead on a hidden stash of gold and decide to find it and take it home. What happens to them along the way changes their objectives and changes their lives in profound ways. Director David O Russell has crafted a movie that SEEMS to be aimless, changing directions with the wind, but is actually a movie with a certain destination, taking a more realistic approach to arrive there. A good example of this narrative philosophy is pointed out by Russell in his excellent and illuminating commentary track: in one scene Clooney is rushing pell-mell through an underground bunker and collides with another man rushing to get out. There's no "point" to it other than that these distracting things happen in real life all the time, just not usually in the movies.

The DVD's price is good and it's PACKED with so many extras (all of them interesting and worthwhile, too) that it's hard to pass up THREE KINGS for purchasing. Very much recommended.

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It starts off fairly simply. At the end of Desert Storm a group of soldiers find a map showing where stolen Kuwaiti gold was being kept so they go get it. What was extraordinary was the way that the Iraqi soldiers actually helped them but would not let them help any of the locals. Orders from Saddam they said.

However, seeing the injustice being meted out by the Iraqi soldiers our four heroes (Clooney, Wahlberg, Cube and Jonze) decide to intervene. Things do not go well as Wahlberg is captured and tortured and all their vehicles are destroyed.

The torture scene is poignant. Wahlberg and his torturer have much in common: they are fathers, they joined the army to give their families a better standard of living, except that the torturer's one year old son was killed in a US bombing raid and his wife lost her legs. When later on Wahlberg is rescued and he has a chance to kill his torturer, his decision adds all the more depth to the story.

Although Saddam is villified in this movie, the story seems to take no sides. This is not about heroes and glory but about the struggle that everyone has with their own oppression - whether it is a tyrant, a poor job or dumb bosses. There are some very touching moments and some great humour. All the actors are very convincing (including all the Iraqi extras) and portay the ambiguity of people caught up in something out of their control.

This is a very good movie and will keep you thinking. The anatomical "shots" are an interesting feature but are insignificant against the storyline. A good movie to add to your collection and talk about with your friends. Loads of extras on the DVD too!