Triple Frontier (2019)

I'm a sucker for a good heist film. When the first trailer for JC Chandor's new flick, Triple Frontier (2019), dropped, I was ready. And a little disappointed: you see, I was planning a month of heist-themed films, and Triple Frontier wasn't hitting Netflix for another month.

But now that time has come and gone, and I had a free weekend to sit in front of my television.

So I decided to trip down to Brazil with a team of ex military dudes bent on robbing a drug lord.

I. What Is It?

This is the story of five ex-soldiers and their plan to rob a South American drug lord of hundreds of millions of dollars.

II. Gorgeous Photography

This movie is pretty. Chandor and cinematographer Roman Vasyanov know how to tell a story with verve without making it feel composed or false. The sight lines and leading lines are there, and the shot comp is sneakily well-established. Even when this film is subdued, the colors are rich and vibrant: the lush blues, and verdant greens of a South American jungle pop off the screen with life. Ron Patane's editing puts it all together, slow-building dread and sparking frenetic tension when the film calls for it. The raid and the various chase sequences are thrilling and stressful without inducing headaches.

At the very least, this film's visuals and style raise it above a crowded, less-inspired genre landscape.

III. Great Leads

The film is anchored in the strength of its lead performers, with one exception.

Oscar Isaac plays the man at his wits' end admirably. The big score was supposed to be easy, but each new wrinkle tests his resolve. Charlie Hunnam is the man who counts everything: he stays cool and calm under pressure and remains somewhat puzzled at his own comfort with violence. Garret Headlund plays his brother, a down-on-his-luck MMA fighter looking for the next big adventure. Headland is all rugged, roguish charm and adds some much-needed comic relief. Pedro Pascal is the pilot, a man who's hit rock bottom out of the military and needs the mission more than he wants to admit, even if the questionable morality of it all twists his guts.

And then there's Ben Affleck. Affleck plays the veteran former leader of the team, convinced to go along so he can provide for his family. Affleck takes a role that, on paper, is rich with emotional opportunity and moral nuance, and... just sort of shows up. It kind of feels like someone pressganged him into service on this film. His performance is more than a bit wooden and he never really plumbs the depths of his character's decisions, weighty as they are.

But, look, we get four-of-five strong performances, and one stick in the mud is not enough to sink the whole boat.

IV. Excellent Premise

When you're a CIA spook at the end of his career, and you can't catch the bad guy legally, what do you do? This film posits a situation where that man decides to use his skills for his own gain. It just so happens that he has friends who have been taught all of the skills they need to pull off a daring heist. When the army, or law enforcement, or both, chew you up and spit you back into society, what do you do with all those skills? It is interesting to see a team of men decide to capitalize on all that training, even if you are keenly aware of the moral complexity of it.

A good heist film needs a good premise, and Triple Frontier has a great one. These aren't rogues. These aren't supervillains. These aren't ne'er-do-wells. These are former American soldiers. Can you blame them for trying to get their just dessert? 

V. Shallow

Chandor is definitely interested in more than a heist. Hell, the heist happens almost exactly halfway through the movie, which leaves a whole hour of runtime to explore consequences and dig into moral quandaries. The problem is that he never fully delves. The film stays on the surface of some really crazy shit: the nature of greed, the toll violence takes on the men who commit it, how poorly we compensate the soldiers we expect to go fight for our freedoms, etc. The characters mention all of these things, but the film, either in haste to pack in even more ideas or in the misplaced hope that it doesn't want to bog down a genre romp pointedly evades earnest discussions of these themes. It is OK to be an empty-headed genre thriller. It is also OK to be a loaded subversion of that genre. It is problematic when you try to dip one foot in each pool. The inconsistency drags the film in disparate, distracting directions.

VI. Long in the Tooth

This movie is long. It is 125 minutes, and feels longer. Part of that is that the film takes pains to set up the stakes for each character in the first half of the film, and dwells on the repercussions of a heist gone poorly (you didn't think the plan would go off without a hitch, did you?) for a bit too long in the second half of the film.

I think Chandor bit off a little more than he could chew, and the film buckles, but never fully breaks, under its own weight.

V. Should You See It?

If you dig heist films, Triple Frontier is a worthy addition to the canon. The film tries to set itself apart from the pack by tackling intense ideas, but almost derails itself in the process. Consider this one good, not great: it's a worthy evening-in flick, but you won't be missing anything necessary if you give it a skip.

Miscellany

- Tom Hardy and Channing Tatum were originally attached to star, but departed over creative differences in the reworked script. This caused Paramount to drop the project. It was picked up by Netflix. The film has been in production in some form since 2010. 
- The title refers to the tres fronteras: the area of the Amazon Rainforest where the boarders of Peru, Colombia and Brazil meet.
- This is the first film to use 6.5k resolution in the 2.11:1 aspect ratio.