Triple Frontier

An outstanding drama for men about the importance of money. A group of soldiers go to pick up their pay and, even if most things go right, one screw-up is enough. The scenery is wonderful, a feast for the eyes. A great role for Affleck, and Chandor gets the maximum out of everybody. There’s not much action, but when there is, it’s pleasantly realistic. The most important lesson of all is that even an honorable man can turn into a swine when he’s thrown into the deep end. (17/03/2019)

I was expecting more intense action scenes, which didn’t quite materialize, and instead, I got a solid manly drama focusing on dialogue and, occasionally, some shooting. The opening scene with the helicopter over the dirty streets, accompanied by Metallica’s music, really got me pumped. The five main characters were extremely likable; the actors themselves are so charismatic that transferring that to their characters seemed easy. The heist happened in the first half. I give the film a big thumbs up for the realism of the action scenes—no emptying of magazines, just effective shooting with single, precise shots, checking room corners, basically things you’d expect from seasoned veterans on the battlefield (though not every film delivers this, rest assured). Then came the part of the film that I’d personally call...HOW EVERYTHING CAN GO WRONG. Whether it was the not-so-thought-out moves of the characters or just plain bad luck (the scene with the farmers significantly affected the plot), everything started to go south. The filmmakers also threw in a major twist that shuffled the deck. I’d usually be annoyed by an open ending, but here it fit well; the final scene with the piece of paper was satisfying. I enjoyed it; the acting was above standard, and for an action film, it had a decent plot that definitely didn’t play second fiddle. I give it 82%. (22/03/2019)

Triple Frontier is a solid action flick with enough space for the characters (ironically, however, the way Affleck’s character behaves in the second part seemed unreasonably cold to me due either to poor directing or the cutting of some scenes). The movie boasts a great cast; from the beginning, it has great genre movie potential that it more than lives up to. Original ideas, exquisitely staged locations and an attractive insider’s view on how such mercenary enterprises might be conceived. (05/05/2019)

Triple Frontier will certainly end up among the most popular and best respected genre titles of the year. It’s a proudly masculine story that perhaps doesn’t expose its characters much beyond the limits of their own morality and that at times feels too telegraphic, but one that doesn’t stumble in any scene, has very well written dialogues and pulls the viewer into the events so intensively that I would love to see it in a cinema. A very good job with great actors in a rather fresh setting and with a final scene that has the courage to leave things partially unresolved. I would like to see something like this at least every six months. (15/03/2019)

Netflix pulls off a macho flick that switches genres from jungle heist, steamy relationship drama and survival adventure, and surprisingly it works. The cast is awesome and everyone involved is great: Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal and the unknown Garrett Hedlund, definitely an admirable lineup for Netflix. There's not that much action, but when it does come it's pleasantly bloody and clear. The suspense works, the locations are beautiful, there's one unexpected twist and an unexpected denouement at the end. I had a great time and it's a bit of a shame that we couldn’t see this film in the cinema. Netflix is headed in the right direction and I'm rooting for them. 80% (14/03/2019)