The talent attached to Triple Frontier, was enough reason for me to check out this Netflix movie, which is directed by J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year, All is Lost and Margin Call). It stars Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck and Pedro Pascal and I was very interested in finding out if this would be a title that was worth watching.
The story revolves around a number of former special forces soldiers. Some still manage to make something of their lives after their old job, but that is not the case for everyone. Civilian life turns out to be difficult when you were so important while in the army and you made decisions about the lives of others. However, Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia (Oscar Isaac) has devised a plan that will enable him and four former colleagues to earn a huge amount of money in a short time. He has been following a drug lord for years and has been able to locate him. He lives with his family in a house in the middle of the jungle on the border of Brazil, Peru and Colombia (hence the title, which isn’t made clear by the movie itself). His home seems to be a safe where he keeps all his money. Santiago manages to convince everyone and they travel into the jungle to carry out this illegal mission.
A few months ago I watched the series Secrets of Cinema on BBC, presented by Mark Kermode. In this show he described the typical characteristics of each genre. One of these episodes was about the heist movie and Triple Frontier is largely part of this genre. The robbery itself occurs relatively early in the film, so the focus is more on what happens to the group afterwards. Not everything goes according to plan and difficult choices have to be made about what is important, money or survival. It delivers thrills, with a number of exciting action moments and unexpected situations that make this worth adding to your Netflix list.
[score7]
I enjoyed TF more than I expected to. First off I love the cast. But I also really enjoyed how it didn’t relish in the killing and often you see the consequences of their actions. It really worked for me.
Yeah, my expectations were low as well, but it was a very pleasant surprise.