Triple 9

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Aaron Paul, Kate Winslet, Gal Gadot, Norman Reedus, Teresa Palmer, Michael Kenneth Williams, Clifton Collins Jr., Michelle Ang
Directed by: John Hillcoat
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The Russian mob forces a group of dirty cops to pull off a dangerous heist.

Review:

Tim: Triple 9 could have been your average heist movie. The story itself is pretty average. Director John Hillcoat and the stellar cast raise the quality of the film, though. While it's still a bit too generic of a film, it does enough right for me to consider this a worthwhile movie. This might not be the best or most memorable movie, but it's solid and entertaining.

The story felt like it tried to be more expansive than the average heist film. There's certainly a lot of characters and a lot of plots to keep straight. You have those pulling off the heist, a series of law enforcement officers, and the Russian mob. The connections between these groups are mostly interesting, although some of them eventually wear thin. For example, the Russian mob's influence over the perpetrators of the heist wasn't nearly as interesting as it needed to be. Kate Winslet was inspired casting for this atypical role, but man, her character was too one-dimensional. The plot grind to a halt every time her character showed up. This contributed to a bit of an uneven feel of the film. The story is okay, there were moments that felt elevated beyond what we'd expect from the genre, but others fell squarely into the usual genre traps.

The cast is easily the best aspect of the film. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor a great deal and was excited for him to topline the film. He gets a few meaty scenes throughout the film, but I left the movie wishing we got more time with him. His motivations are clear, but we didn't really get enough time to explore him as a character. Casey Affleck was a nice addition to the cast. It felt like he raised up the material anytime he was on screen. I enjoyed his performance. Anthony Mackie turned in a decent performance. He didn't do anything outstanding, but he contributed. Woody Harrelson makes every film better and it certainly does that again here. He's such an underrated actor. This movie is significantly better because of his presence here. I loved seeing Aaron Paul, but I wish he had more to do. This role felt very safe for him. As mentioned, Winslet's character felt a little dull. Her performance wasn't exactly believable, although I appreciate her trying something different. Gal Gadot makes no impact at all. I loved seeing Norman Reedus, but I wish he a more substantial part. Really, the cast keeps going, with Teresa Palmer, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Clifton Collins Jr. all adding solid supporting turns.

I don't have a lot to say about Triple 9, really. It's a good heist movie. There's enough twists and turns and suspenseful moments to maintain our attention. When our attention does waver (and it does, from time to time), there's always something that brings us back. There's some decent action sequences. As a whole, you can do better, but you can do a whole lot worse.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Lawless, The Road