Netflix's "Triple Frontier" has the look of the classic Hollywood action blockbuster; trailers that make it look like it could have starred Arnold Schwarzenegger (if released in another decade), an all-star cast, including Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac, and a simple "ex-special op soldiers rob a mega-rich drug lord" premise. (How many times have we seen that??)
Yet all those explosions shown in the previews are about the only ones we get in the 125 minute running time, and the plot ends up suggesting a lot more than your typical actioner. It's entertaining, for the most part, but I feel mislead. The gunfights are shot with finesse, and what little action we do get is staged professionally, but it all ends too soon; right when you're at the edge of your seat (likely your couch) and your arm is clenching the armrest, it ends. It's all buildup with no climax, no release. That's all fine and everything, but a movie that teases the same thing so often needs to have a plot and characters that we the audience care about. "Triple Frontier" has one only of those two requirements.
First, what works, the cast. Even a paunchy Affleck (playing Tom "Redfly" Davis) convinces me that he can still fire a gun. His four friends, brought out of retirement by Santiago "Pope" Garcia (Isaac), all struggle with life outside of the Army, but are not all too eager to jump into the fire again. Maybe it's the actors lack of enthusiasm for the project, but their bored, somewhat frustrated demeanor works to convey their reluctance of the situation. But there's a chemistry between the five guys, find themselves overwhelmed at the promise, and eventual sight, of so much money.
The plot however, is less than satisfactory. What did I expect though? The five ex-Army guys gear up to take down a drug lord is the general summary, and it doesn't take long for the script to plunge the band of (anti?)heroes into the South American jungle (where all movie-drug lords come from). Everything's planned out, an entry (wait for a large portion of the badguy's guards to take his family to church), a getaway (at first vans, used by the organization to transport the drugs, and eventually a helicopter), and a coverup (burn the building to a cinder), but all that happens in the first half of the run time. Once they trade those vans for the copter, I found myself wondering "what is going to happen now?" That's the sign of a film working, it stirred a reaction out of me, I wanted to see what else the film had up it's sleeve. Unfortunately it was wearing a tanktop.
They quickly discover that they've stolen more cash than the rotorcraft can carry, they crash into a poor village, duffel bags stuffed with money intact, and need to deal with angry natives, unpleasant weather, uneven terrain, all the usual stuff. It's a terrific twist in theory, leaving so much of the film dedicated to the escape, but it's execution is half-hearted and clumsy. One of the members of our ragtag group is shot during the heist. You'd expect this to be a clutch; he'd slow them down, or deal with an infection without the medical care needed, but none of that happens. One scene he's shown checking his bloody wound, and then the next he's hauling bag after bag of money as if he was shot with a spitball. There are some key moments that I won't spoil here, revelations and actions that further the character development, but they're few and very far between. It's this second half of the film that sinks "Triple Frontier," souring the experience with a more "made-for-TV" drama/survival tale than an exciting chase with millions in tow (and millions in the flick's budget no doubt).
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