MOVIE REVIEW: Triple 9

Director: John Hillcoat
Writer: Matt Cook
Stars: Teresa Palmer, Kate Winslet, Gal Gadot, Anthony Mackie, Norman Reedus, Aaron Paul, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson 

A seasoned group of bank robbers must fight against the ever-changing demands of a Russian Criminal gang.  Set against the backdrop of Los Angeles gang problem their lives are complicated by most of the gang being part of the LAPD.  This mixture of The Shield and Heat brings pounding thrill ride with strong characters and a cast that is so strong there is no room for anything other than their best.

The well oiled machine are taking bigger and bigger risks, waiting on their payday from the Russian mob that selects their jobs.  When it comes to the biggest job of their career these cops turned robbers must decide on a drastic course of events in order to shake the detectives that are starting to close in on them, and avoid capture.

Over the last few years we’ve gotten a few decent Cop dramas that mix great action with better characters that we normally get.  Just off the top of my head End of Watch which just had me for the whole of the running time.  These dramas are few and far between and should be pushed harder by their PR machines.  Not getting at the hard-working PR people it’s just too many of these fly under the radar and shouldn’t.  I think we are going to be fine when it comes to Triple 9, because the cast of this film alone, should enable the word to spread quicker than wildfire.  I’ll just run through the list, and save myself some time by letting you know that everyone in this film brought their A game, not one of these performers phoned it in.  First though I have to say that whoever cast Gal Gadot in her part should be raked over a bed of hot coals, she’s great in this terrible role, but she’s basically just a trashy piece of eye candy, we didn’t need someone of her talent for this role.  You could have gone to any bus station or restaurant in America and found someone who could have done this job, it’s one of my biggest problems in modern movies that a good actor gets a nothing role, and I know there are no small roles only small actors.  If you are going to have someone with talent in role that isn’t great then change the role.  Anyway ranting over, back to telling you who is in this amazing Bank Robbery film.  The list of amazing starts with Casey Affleck, Woody Harrleson, Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Anthony Mackie, Norman Reedus, Clifton Colins Jnr., and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Triple 9 feels like Heat with End of Watch thrown in to give you characters that you care about, even the scumbag criminals.  There are complications mixed with complications and more intrigue thrown in for good measure.  The storytelling though means that you don’t get lost along the way, the film doesn’t talk down to you, just holds your hand and tells you that you’re going to be fine, fine and entertained.  This is superior cop drama that you won’t find anywhere else in the year to come.  There are parts of the film which you can see coming a mile away but the way that the story is handled just makes you get comfortable in your seat and enjoy the ride.  I will say this to you, this is like Game of Thrones for police movies.  The constant twists and turns, the unexpected character development, and the back story to nearly all the characters is just mesmerizing to the point that you want to sit through the film time and time again just to get to grips with the plot and characters.

In a time of throwaway films and movies that talk down to you it is refreshing to see something this well-played, written, and packaged to be enjoyed.  I will have no problem paying to go back to see this film on release as it’s one of the best action drama’s that I’ve seen in a long time.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

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Garth Cremona (RIP)
Comic book creator and movie reviewer. You can find out more at www.dublinwriter.com
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