Triple Frontier (2019)

“You’ve been shot 5 times for your country and you can’t even afford to send your kids to college.” – Santiago “Pope” Garcia

Number of Times Seen – 1 (17 Mar 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A group of 5 Army veterans plan to rob a South American drug lord and get away with millions.

My Take on it – This is a film that I knew nothing about when I caught it on Netflix and was quite surprised at how many big named actors were in this film.

The premise is quite interesting and they manage to execute it extremely well throughout.

This is a fun heist film that works on numerous levels because it is well planned out from both a cerebral and action packed standpoint.

The cast is superb and both Ben Affleck and Oscar Issac are great in this film in the leads.

The supporting cast is also chosen quite well which adds to the enjoyment of it all.

The story is paced really well and that actually helps keep things feeling quite realistic throughout.

The plot is presented really well and they find a way to keep things feeling very unique and original throughout.

The story is planned out in an interesting way which helps keep things feeling even more thrilling and realistic as things unfold.

The characters are developed quite well and we get a clear understanding of what happens to soldiers once they no longer continue living the kind of life they are accustomed to following their departure from a war zone, even years later.

Things remain interesting throughout and by the end they give the viewer the feeling that they want even more when the credits begin to roll.

As we all saw recently with the success of Roma (2018), Netflix has found a way to make mainstream films that are worthy of being a part of the discussion for theatrical award during the awards season.

They have a great marketing strategy that will allow for their films to be viewed by a wider audience at a more affordable price since their films are released for a limited time in theaters followed by being shown on Netflix not long afterwards.

Bottom Line – Interesting premise that is executed quite well. The cast is great with Isaac and Affleck both doing amazing jobs in their roles. The story moves along at a great pace that helps keep things believable throughout. The story manages to feel unique and original in the way that it is all planned out and that helps keep things even more thrilling and realistic as the story unfolds. The story is written really well and we get both a cerebral and action packed heist film that works on numerous levels. They do a fine job showing how the story is able to stay interesting from start to finish and still give the viewer the urge to want more as the credits begin to roll. The characters are developed really well and we get a clear idea as to what happens to soldiers even years after being released from a combat zone while they struggle to make sense of their own lives. This is another great example of how Netflix will be able to continue making very enjoyable original films that will make them still be serious contenders for awards due to their marketing strategy of releasing films in theaters for a limited time before releasing them on Netflix. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The title refers to either the geographic location where the Colombian border meets Venezuela and Brazil or Peru and Brazil. The movie never specifies which. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)

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Watched this yesterday. Started well, but the wheels kind of fell off. For me, it turned into an extended chase film that lost all the forward momentum they had from the initial set up. This began with a screenplay by Mark Boal to be directed (as a feature) by Kathryn Bigelow (the team behind the Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty). If you were surprised at the “big name actors” in the Netflix version – you’d be bowled over by the names previously attached to this project (Tom Hanks & Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Tom Hardy, Channing Tatum, Casey Affleck, Denzel Washington, Javier Bardem, Sean Penn and Mahershala Ali in various combinations were all possibilities to star in this movie as far back as 2015 before Bigelow left the project and JC Chandor came on board). I thought this cast was very good – especially Oscar Isaac – although I thought Ben Affleck was a bit of a stiff. The rest – Charlie Hunnam, Garret Hedlund and Pedro Pascal (who I just saw on Broadway in KING LEAR with Glenda Jackson) were all solid.

This movie wants to be Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but doesn’t come close. The problem is the central conceit and the main players. In Treasure it was about the gold – and a map – and finding it – and 3 total strangers who start to fall apart and turn on one another because of the riches. In Frontier – it’s about cash – belonging to a druglord – and 5 ex-combat vets/friends who see a way to steal from the corrupt and help themselves (and their families). And the main problem is that they are all FRIENDS and combat vets and “no man left behind” etc. – so they are never going to turn on themselves over the money, no matter what. The what – what’s meant to be a meticulously planned job – for which a reluctant Affleck is brought on to be the brains and double check all the math and strategy etc. and sign off on the mission and their prospects – who certainly needs the money but has to be arm-twisted into joining the others, then become s the very one to get all greedy and thrown the plans out the window for even more than they came for when it turns out there’s so much more than they even imagined (or were led to believe) – thereby endangering the mission and all his buddies.

After that – these military guys are in the jackpot. Everything that can go wrong goes wrong. Plans are out the window (and you begin to see that the plans weren’t all that seamless to begin with and they have no Plan B. Ultimately – the suspense for me once things went sideways was wondering which of the 5 (if any) would make it out of the jungle alive. Instead, it became – how much of the money can we ditch in order to just get out. That only worked up to a point and without issuing any spoilers – they made one move which seemed like a blatant set up for a sequel (and was) and would not even have the same suspense engendered in this version – because there’d be no threat any longer – not when you go up against a drug lord and his minions and the tentacles he has spread out over 4 different countries.It becomes a bide your time, wait til the heat dies down and go back mission.Not exactly Ocean’s 14.

It was good (I wouldn’t call it “fun” with the high body count and violence) and had I paid to see it in a movie theater – my guess is I would’ve been even more disappointed with it than I am.

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3 thoughts on “Triple Frontier (2019)”

Michael Eddy · 19 March , 2019 at 12:21 AM · · Reply

Watched this yesterday. Started well, but the wheels kind of fell off. For me, it turned into an extended chase film that lost all the forward momentum they had from the initial set up. This began with a screenplay by Mark Boal to be directed (as a feature) by Kathryn Bigelow (the team behind the Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty). If you were surprised at the “big name actors” in the Netflix version – you’d be bowled over by the names previously attached to this project (Tom Hanks & Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Tom Hardy, Channing Tatum, Casey Affleck, Denzel Washington, Javier Bardem, Sean Penn and Mahershala Ali in various combinations were all possibilities to star in this movie as far back as 2015 before Bigelow left the project and JC Chandor came on board). I thought this cast was very good – especially Oscar Isaac – although I thought Ben Affleck was a bit of a stiff. The rest – Charlie Hunnam, Garret Hedlund and Pedro Pascal (who I just saw on Broadway in KING LEAR with Glenda Jackson) were all solid.

This movie wants to be Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but doesn’t come close. The problem is the central conceit and the main players. In Treasure it was about the gold – and a map – and finding it – and 3 total strangers who start to fall apart and turn on one another because of the riches. In Frontier – it’s about cash – belonging to a druglord – and 5 ex-combat vets/friends who see a way to steal from the corrupt and help themselves (and their families). And the main problem is that they are all FRIENDS and combat vets and “no man left behind” etc. – so they are never going to turn on themselves over the money, no matter what. The what – what’s meant to be a meticulously planned job – for which a reluctant Affleck is brought on to be the brains and double check all the math and strategy etc. and sign off on the mission and their prospects – who certainly needs the money but has to be arm-twisted into joining the others, then become s the very one to get all greedy and thrown the plans out the window for even more than they came for when it turns out there’s so much more than they even imagined (or were led to believe) – thereby endangering the mission and all his buddies.

After that – these military guys are in the jackpot. Everything that can go wrong goes wrong. Plans are out the window (and you begin to see that the plans weren’t all that seamless to begin with and they have no Plan B. Ultimately – the suspense for me once things went sideways was wondering which of the 5 (if any) would make it out of the jungle alive. Instead, it became – how much of the money can we ditch in order to just get out. That only worked up to a point and without issuing any spoilers – they made one move which seemed like a blatant set up for a sequel (and was) and would not even have the same suspense engendered in this version – because there’d be no threat any longer – not when you go up against a drug lord and his minions and the tentacles he has spread out over 4 different countries.It becomes a bide your time, wait til the heat dies down and go back mission.Not exactly Ocean’s 14.

It was good (I wouldn’t call it “fun” with the high body count and violence) and had I paid to see it in a movie theater – my guess is I would’ve been even more disappointed with it than I am.

LikeLiked by 1 person
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