March, 1991, the Iraqi desert. Special Forces Captain Archie Gates (GEORGE CLOONEY), U.S. Army Sergeant Troy Barlow (MARK WAHLBERG), Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin (ICE CUBE) and Private Conrad Vig (SPIKE JONZE) have spent weeks marking time in base camp while the Persian Gulf war is fought by high-tech specialists. The impersonality of the war has left the men bored and disoriented and, now that the cease-fire has become official, they're looking forward to leaving this bleak landscape behind.

As the Americans prepare to dismantle their base camp and return home, Troy, Chief and Conrad unexpectedly come into possession of a map that indicates the location of a stash of Kuwaiti gold bullion stolen by the Iraqi army and they aim to make it their own!

The foursome decide to take a Humvee jeep and launch into their own maneuvers to find Saddam's secret stash of stolen gold. Their plan is to "leave at dawn and be back by lunch" but their plan doesn't run at all smoothly.

Their brief foray into Iraqi territory becomes their first face-to-face encounter with the Iraqi people and the complex circumstances of life in a country at war with itself.

One misadventure leads to another, changing from grim reality with surrealistic dark humor, to humorous one liners and loads of laughs.

 With expertly staged battle scenes and loads of humorous one liners the blend of blood and laughs really works well to create an action comedy to keep even the most ardent film fan happy.