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Three Kings poster

Movies that feel likeThree Kings (1999)

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.

If you loved Three Kings, the closest films we have are Hot Shots! (1991), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (1966). All three share Three Kings' witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Shadow (2018).

🍅 94% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. David O. Russellkineticwittyplayfulbleak
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Apple TV

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See it on the Mood Map

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.

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

Playful where it counts, bleak underneath

The difference: Takes it somewhere less kinetic than Three Kings does

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.

Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! poster
★ 7.8comedy · war

Comedy built on wit, twice over

The difference: Easier on the momentum than Three Kings

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.

Mediterraneo poster
Mediterraneo
1991 · dir. Gabriele Salvatores
🍅 80%★ 7.4comedy · romance · war

Both lean on play more than on war

The difference: Leans harder into romance than Three Kings does

Greek Sea, World War II. An Italian ship leaves a handful of soldiers in a little island; their mission is to spot enemy ships and to hold the island in case of attack. The village of the island seems abandoned and there isn't a single enemy in sight, so the soldiers begin to relax a little. Things change when their ship is hit and destroyed by the enemy, and the soldiers find themselves abandoned there.

Duck Soup poster
Duck Soup
1933 · dir. Leo McCarey
🍅 91%★ 7.7comedy · war

Bleak action in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1930s, in a different era of the craft

Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.

Shadow poster
Shadow
2018 · dir. Zhang Yimou
🍅 94%★ 7action · warPrime Video

Kinetic action, 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.

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: kuwait

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

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.

Tropic Thunder poster
Tropic Thunder
2008 · dir. Ben Stiller
🍅 82%★ 7.1action · comedy · warApple TV+Paramount+

Comedy with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. After ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys.

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

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."

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

Both lean on bleakness more than on war

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.

Letters from Iwo Jima poster
Letters from Iwo Jima
2006 · dir. Clint Eastwood
🍅 91%★ 7.8action · drama · war

Action of the same temperament

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.

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

One thread runs through both: iraq

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.

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