imperfection is perfection
Sporadic film reviews by a wanna-be filmmaker
TRIPLE 9 [2016]
Directed by John Hillcoat
Written by Matt Cook
Starring: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Clifton Collins Jr, Aaron Paul, Kate Winslet, Norman Reedus
John Hillcoat’s follow-up to Lawless heads in a direction that the Aussie director isn’t entirely familiar with, though the tone fits. His films are dark, and he certainly doesn’t shy away from violence. But this is the first film of his in a while that takes place in today’s society, not to mention that this is the first time Hillcoat has worked with such a large ensemble cast. While it is filled with riveting set-pieces and shoot-outs, Triple 9 doesn’t contain anything to help it climb above countless other action movies that involve dirty cops, clean cops and criminals who don’t trust each other.
It is entertaining enough, but you need to suspend belief in order to get any enjoyment at all from Triple 9. A team of criminals and dirty cops are working for/being blackmailed by a Russian Mafia boss, which is as ridiculous as it is unoriginal. The fact that this Mafia boss is played by Kate Winslet is also a tad ridiculous, though to Kate’s credit she is quite convincing in a subtle yet menacing performance – her accent for the most part is strong and consistent, and importantly she doesn’t overact.
Her sister (Gal Gadot) is the mother of one of the criminal’s (Michael, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) child, which is why she has the control. Why this matters to the rest of the team is for you to decide, but regardless, they are all under her thumb. After one heist is completed, she decides that they are to pull off another job, in order to please her friend in Russia, Vasili.
This of course surprises the team and they are at a loss. How can they pull this off? It is at least a ten minute job, so the team needs a distraction. Cue the title of the movie – one of the crooked cops suggests triggering a triple 9 call, which is police code for an officer down. With police pre-occupied with this situation, the team figures they will have enough time to grab what is needed.
Needless to say, the plan doesn’t go as expected and there are many surprises throughout the second half, as we begin to ponder the motivations of each character. Trust begins to factor into almost every scene, as the alliances of most of the characters are not black and white. Their actions become impossible to predict. The ending did have a twist or two too many, but ultimately wrapped the movie up well… Perhaps too well?
This isn’t a particularly long film, but there are too many different characters to develop properly, and the movie suffers because of it. An example is the sergeant of the police force, played by Woody Harrelson. He could have really had fun with the role, which he certainly does, but due to limited screen time devoted to developing his character, he seems two-dimensional, as does most of the cast. There is no bad acting, but there isn’t anything memorable either. Aaron Paul delivers his first convincing performance since Breaking Bad, though he again has limited screen time and his character is barely relevant.
The best character of the film is Casey Affleck’s Chris, a cop who not only happens to be the nephew of Harrelson’s Sergeant Jeffrey Allen, but also is the new partner of one of the crooked cops pulling off the robberies. Like I said, suspend your belief as this film is filled with moments where you will think “well, how convenient”. His character is easily the most developed, a cocky but ultimately good cop whose morals and beliefs are tested.
Probably best as a rental, this is an exciting film that unfortunately doesn’t stick with the viewer after the credits roll. It has all the ingredients,
it looks and sounds great, it has a fantastic cast and a director who has churned out some fantastic films over the last decade. But what it doesn’t have is an original and compelling story, nor does it have a decent script – first time writer Matt Cook obviously struggled with his first attempt at writing a movie. Hillcoat’s last three films were written by Nick Cave (twice), while his adaptation of the The Road was from Cormac McCarthy. A step down then in the writing department, which is this film’s biggest weakness.
Triple 9 isn’t a bad film at all, but it isn’t a great one either. Enjoy the action, take the popcorn and have fun guessing what the criminals will do next.
Four beers out of a sixer. Worth a rent, at the very least.
4/6
17 Comments on “TRIPLE 9 [2016]”
Leave a Reply
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CINEMAAXIS
LAMB #1758
Blogs I Follow
imperfection is perfection 
Have not seen this yet, but I think John HIlcoat’s strongest film is still The Proposition but then again I am a big fan of the western genre alongside horror films 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
LikeLike
I’d go with The Road but they are all great. Pity this one was written by a first-timer
LikeLiked by 1 person
I gave my press screening to my pal Ted who reviewed it for me. I definitely will rent this one Jordan, even just for the cast alone. 4/6 doesn’t sound too bad. Whatever you do, avoid London Has Fallen!!
LikeLike
Yeah that one sounds pretty damned terrible!
LikeLike
I think I’ll wait for this on rental.
LikeLike
Yeah, its not as good as I was hoping
LikeLiked by 1 person
That cast is impressive which sounds like a real shame.
LikeLike
Its a good movie but it just isn’t memorable. A few days later and I can barely remember the story, I just remember a few great action set pieces and that was it
LikeLiked by 1 person
For me, a movie has to make a real impact to be memorable.
LikeLike
There is a decent heist film that is Aussie called Son of a Gun that is quite good. It has Ewan McGregor in it. That one isn’t perfect but it sure is memorable, its worth watching just for the jailbreak! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m making of it now, thanks for recommending it.
LikeLike
I had intended to catch this but it didn’t last in theatres very long here. Rental it is!
LikeLike
A rental will do nicely. It didn’t last here long either, must have bombed at the BO
LikeLike
Good stuff, Jordan. Although I was hoping for a bit more praise on this. It’s a little disheartening to here that Hillcoat doesn’t manage to string it all together. I’ve been a big admirer of his films so far.
LikeLike
Yeah me too, and he is Aussie 😀 But his last three films were -solid-. This one just doesn’t piece it all together in a unique enough way
LikeLike
There’s nothing wrong with Triple 9 – it’s just slightly generic. It’s the kind of film you’ve seen done loads of times before and many times better.
LikeLiked by 1 person
pretty much, yep. And the ending was kinda like the ending to The Departed, all nice and neat
LikeLike