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Review: Triple Frontier (2019)

Triple Frontier (2019)

Okay, so I had no really expectations going into this one, I was simply a bit bored the other evening and looking for something to watch and fell upon JC Chandor's Triple Frontier, one of Netflix's new marquee films. I did not see Chandor's previous, A Most Violent Year, but I did see All Is Lost, which starred Robert Redford and was actually quite excellent.

At the end of the day, Triple Frontier is likely not going to wow anyone. It very much is what it is. It is the tried and true story of a group of old friends getting back together for one final (and dangerous) job. In this, the film boasts quite the remarkable cast in Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal. Isaac is one of my absolute favourites of the 'new generation' of top caliber actors and, for the most part, he is the one who gives the film gravitas of any kind. In an apt move by the filmmakers, Hunnam and Hedlund play brothers in the film, and just looking at them one may ponder them actually being related in real-life. Affleck has the role with the most 'weight' given to it and Pascal is kinda just along for the ride. In general, none of the characters are really fleshed out with any compelling detail, other than some base points that the filmmakers go back to again and again for their main emotional conflicts. As the film is very much about the dynamics of the group, this lack of reason for investment in the characters is likely the film's greatest weakness.
The film boasts some capable and riveting action sequences that, in all likelihood, will be the reason why most people end up sticking along for the whole ride. The plot itself is quite jerky and the pacing ebbs and flows, but not in the good way. There is some discussion early on about the disenfranchisement of these soldiers with the country they once fought for that leads them to the film's central less-than-legal job. This is a fascinating topic ripe for dissection and elaboration, however, as one might guess the film never takes the opportunity to actually delve into it in any way. I also found some issues with the cinematography where many of the shots early on are unnecessarily dark and shadowy, though this is resolved later, once the group enters the wilderness of South America. For anyone who is in the mood for an actiony/thriller that you can turn your mind off for then you could do worse than throwing on Triple Frontier for a few hours.

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