Movement Critique

Three Kings was about four soldiers who set out to find treasure in Iraq, but ended up saving people, risking there own lives for something they thought was more rewarding.

Movement in this movie played a huge role in setting the pace and providing the audience with a more "real" point of view. Panning was used a lot in this movie. Not only was it used to show the audience the setting of the scene but also to show actions from character to character. When they are driving up to the village where the gold is hidden, the pan is used to show the truck there in in proximity to the village and also the village itself. It shows where everything is in orientation to them and the people in the village. Another example of panning is the scene where Clooney was shot. The camera constantly panned from Clooney to the guy that was holding a gun to the woman's head, showing their reactions and actions each time. It was a good technique because it allowed us to see up close their expressions and the suspense as they where standing off in the intense situation.

An interesting shot they used a couple of times throughout the movie was the hand-held shot. This provided us with the feeling that we were in the mix, actually there experiencing what was happening. This shot was used in the scene where their truck ran over a mine and the tear gas was raining on them. They where running around looking for their man through the tear gas and we could see/sense the panic and intensity of the situation as he was stumbling around looking. I think this was a pretty cool scene and I liked the way it was shot.

One more shot that really stood out to me and made the film, was the Aerial shot, which, again, helped establish the scene and really show us everything going on. An example of this is when they are driving up to the village, the camera is above the driving truck approaching the village, showing them closing the distance on the village and giving us a visual of the surroundings and whats up ahead. This shot was used well throughout the movie and helped make it, in my mind a successful movie.

Movement played a huge role in making this film what it was, it added a suspense to it that kept me interested and made it fun to watch.