Three Kings American's will pay to see a good story no matter what war it was set in. Platoon was set in an unpopular war, Deer Hunter too....so if it is a good movie people will go. DaDakota
I was thinking Three Kings the whole time I was scrolling down this thread, and look what happens... It would probably be more like Three Kings than Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers (best war movie/series ever), though, just because of the way it's being fought. I will boycott it if Rambo is in it.
The best thing about Three Kings, however is how they set you up with the cynical expectations, lead you down the path and spin away at the last minute. George Clooney & Co. only care about the money, but at the last minute give it up to save everyone. George Clooney & Co. have absolutely no respect for the 'natives' deriding them with all sorts of racist blabbler, but at the last minute come to treat them as people. In this way the movie fits the 'historic mold' of good guys doing good things to beat the bad guys who want to do bad things. The writers, however, fit it into the expectations of the modern war movie, which allows them to 'fly in under the radar' and hit you unawares. Good subersive movie making. The point of the thread, however, is well taken. You will never see a post WWII movie in the classic good guys vs. bad guys mold where the good guys aren't faced with non-traditional obsticles. Three Kings - they were good even though they started bad. Deer Hunter, Born On The Fourth Of July, etc - good guys went off thinking they were going to be traditional heroes but didn't find a WWII type war, and were derided back home. Platoon & Apocolypse Now - good guys go off to fight the enemy but find out the war is not with the external enemy, but rather from within. The traditional war movie is good guys go get bad guys and overcome obsticles that reinforce their sense of purpose. Modern war movies, on the other hand, revel in good people with purpose being thrust into situations where they become confused, jaded, and are left with ambiguous feelings. All Nazis are bad, but Saddams Republican Guard were conscripts, forced into duty and apathetic to their jobs. They are portrayed as not bad but rather victims of fate. You can tell a traditional war movie when you don't feel guilty hating the bad guys. Another intresting recent war movie was "Enemy At The Gate", because despite the traditional Nazi bad guy, the good guys were Soviets! It was a bit ambigous as to whether it was a good vs. evil story or a 'platoonesque' "war is ****ed up" story at first, what with everyone getting killed in the beginning, but by the time Ed Harris took that little kid and killed him, you knew it was a movie where the good guys were going to be clearly good.
