Good as gold.

3 Kings. Written by John Ridley and David O. Russell, directed by David O. Russell, and starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube.

Now this one I liked. I found it believable (and rather eye-opening, at that), the characters were relatable, and the structure and story were easy to follow. As discussed in class, by 12 minutes in, we had learned who the characters were, where and when it was taking place, and what the story was going to be about. The first plot point then came when the woman, the mother, was shot in the head, changing the direction of the story.

Through the middle of the film, we see the characters face the obstacles of losing half the gold, being taken prisoner, and becoming responsible for a group of rebels/refugees. There's a lot of traveling, shooting, torturing, and so on, and then we reach the second plot point. Now, we didn't really discuss this one in class, so I'm just to explain the way I saw it. For me, it seemed that the second plot point (leading into Act 3 and the resolution of the film) was when Conrad, the dumb best friend soldier, was killed. At this point, they've got the gold, they've found their missing man (Wahlberg's character, Troy), and they know what they have to do with the rebels. From here, the rest of the movie is really just wrapping up what we already know is going to happen: the refugees make it across the border, the gold is returned, and the three remaining soldiers go on to live their lives outside the army. This truly was a Syd Field Triple Act film.

Russell, D. (Director). (1999). Three Kings [video]. Arizona, USA: Warner Bros. Pictures.