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Movies that feel like Three Kings (1999)

If you loved Three Kings, the closest films we have are Hot Shots! (1991), The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) and Jarhead (2005). All three share Three Kings' bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden near their base, and they embark on a secret mission that's destined to change everything.

🍅 94% Rotten Tomatoes7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. David O. Russellkineticwittyplayfulbleak

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If Three Kings hit the spot, these will too

Hot Shots! poster
Hot Shots!
1991 · dir. Jim Abrahams
🍅 83%6.7action · comedy · war

The same mix in both: momentum, then wit

The gang that created Airplane! and The Naked Gun sets its sights on Top Gun in this spoof. Topper Harley is a talented but unstable fighter pilot with an axe to grind: clearing the family name. His mission is to avenge his father and save a mission sabotaged by greedy weapons manufacturers. He also gets involved in a relationship with Ramada Thompson, a woman with an unusually talented stomach. Hot Shots! makes fun of a variety of other films, from Dances with Wolves to The Fabulous Baker Boys.

The Men Who Stare at Goats poster
The Men Who Stare at Goats
2009 · dir. Grant Heslov
🍅 51%6.2comedy · war

Both keep coming back to the same thing: kuwait

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.

Jarhead poster
Jarhead
2005 · dir. Sam Mendes
🍅 60%7drama · war

Two things both keep coming back to: gulf war and soldier

The difference: None of the momentum Three Kings is built on

Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.

Shaolin Soccer poster
Shaolin Soccer
2001 · dir. Stephen Chow
🍅 89%7.3action · comedy

Action with a pulse of play, in both cases

The difference: Not nearly as bleak as Three Kings

A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.

We Were Soldiers poster
We Were Soldiers
2002 · dir. Randall Wallace
🍅 63%7.2action · history · war

Both are built on the same subject: soldier

The difference: Sits closer to history than Three Kings does

The year is 1965 and America is at war with North Vietnam. Commanding the air cavalry is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), a born leader committed to his troops. His target: the Ia Drang Valley, called "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind...dead or alive. We will all come home together."

Good Morning, Vietnam poster
Good Morning, Vietnam
1987 · dir. Barry Levinson
🍅 90%7.3comedy · drama · war

Bleak comedy in both cases

A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.

American Sniper poster
American Sniper
2014 · dir. Clint Eastwood
🍅 71%7.3war · action

The same two preoccupations: iraq, and u.s. soldier

U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.

Eastern Condors poster
Eastern Condors
1987 · dir. Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
7.1action · adventure · war

War built on momentum, twice over

A motley group of Chinese prisoners held in the US is sent on a covert mission with the promise of a pardon: to go deep into Vietnam and destroy a secret depot of missiles that the US left behind during the pull-out.

Project A - Part II poster
Project A - Part II
1987 · dir. Jackie Chan
🍅 73%7action · comedy

Witty action, and it commits to that

Dragon is now transferred to be the police head of Sai Wan district, and has to contend with a gangster kingpin, anti-Manchu revolutionaries, some runaway pirates, Manchu Loyalists and a corrupt police superintendent.

Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! poster
7.9comedy · war

Both lean on play more than on comedy

The difference: Made in the 1960s, in a different era of the craft

During World War II, two French civilians and a downed British Bomber Crew set out from Paris to cross the demarcation line between Nazi-occupied Northern France and the South. From there they will be able to escape to England. First, they must avoid German troops – and the consequences of their own blunders.

Shadow poster
Shadow
2018 · dir. Zhang Yimou
🍅 94%7action · war

Bleak war, and it commits to that

In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a shadow, a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.

Tears of the Sun poster
Tears of the Sun
2003 · dir. Antoine Fuqua
🍅 34%6.6war · action · drama

Both lean on momentum more than on action

Navy SEAL Lieutenant A.K. Waters and his elite squadron of tactical specialists are forced to choose between their duty and their humanity, between following orders by ignoring the conflict that surrounds them, or finding the courage to follow their conscience and protect a group of innocent refugees. When the democratic government of Nigeria collapses and the country is taken over by a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran is dispatched on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician.

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The best-reviewed films that share Three Kings’ defining feeling.