There is a certain type of film that gets released every now and again that breaks away from the normal formula. It tells a story in a mysterious fashion which makes it not always easy to figure out what is going to happen next. Sometimes this is done in a way that works like in Memento or The Usual Suspects. Sadly other times this fails miserably like in Sicario. Triple 9 is the next movie to attempt to follow in these footsteps and here is what this writer thought of it.
A group of four people one day decide to rob a very powerful bank. They come in guns blazing and yet they harm no one and only take one item. They make threats and fire bullets into the roof but it appears nobody gets hurt by them. Michael Belmont (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Marcus Atwood (Anthony Mackie), Gabe Welch (Aaron Paul) and Russell Welch (Norman Reedus) stole a safety deposit box that is very important to Irina Vlsalov (Kate Winslet).
After Micheal delivers the item to her they all think the job is over, but sadly there is one task left they have to do. It will be a dangerous mission and one that at first glance appears impossible. They set a plan in motion to murder a rookie cop named Chris Allen (Casey Affleck) and while the entire police force is distracted by this 999 call the rest of the crew will attempt to pull off the heist of the century. What is this crew going to have to steal now? Why are they taking on such a dangerous job? And is there a chance anything could go wrong along the way?
Triple 9 was an okay picture but it does have a number of issues. They plot is most of the time rather confusing. It tends to go in one direction and then weaves in an entirely different direction sometimes with little warning. This makes for a movie that is appears at times the characters are not even sure what is going to happen next. The movie also tries to tell a few different stories and somehow make them intertwined but sadly this doesn’t work that good. When this writer was watching this movie there were a few shocking twists but they didn’t always make sense. There are some deaths that audiences will wonder why did things go that way and how is that going to help the film move along? There are also a few times where it comes off as unnecessary.
The cast does their best here but the only one who is really good is Woody Harrelson. Every time his character is on screen it is gold. Every thing he says makes sense and there are some scenes when things have gone haywire where the things he says and does and the way he says them gets everything back on track. The soundtrack is pretty good and the songs usually fit with what is going on and a few times adds to the action and intensity of what is happening at that particular moment.
Triple 9 gets 4/10. With a sometimes confusing and hard to follow plot, mostly cookie cutter or just hard to feel for characters and and ending that doesn’t really make a ton of sense it is not the best movie this writer has seen lately. There is also a ton of violence that will be hard to watch sometimes for even those used to those kinds of things in the movies they watch. This is definitely not a movie for made for everyone to enjoy and overall was a disappointing film.
If you enjoy a good thriller you may like Triple 9. If you are looking for a good violent picture this is the one for you. But if you want to see a movie with real substance then it would be best to pick something else to see. Triple 9 is a movie that for some won’t even be worth seeing when it comes out which with the stellar cast is a real shame. Triple 9 comes out this Friday.
Check out intense trailer below: