'Triple 9' is an action thriller with a great cast within it. It follows both the police and the mafia surrounding several jobs. But would 'Triple 9' be able to create the tension needed for a great thriller? Or would it fall flat leaving behind a boring story?
After a successful robbery in broad daylight with a couple of speedbumps, Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his crew look to make their getaway. Unhappy with their work, ruthless Russian mafia leader Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet) orders them to pull off another job. One of the members is policeman Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) and he has a new partner on the force in Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). As the plans for this next job are being set, Allen is also being set up to be used to allow them to carry out their job.
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The plot of this film does seem fairly simple. A gang having to carry out a job otherwise trouble from people with more power. It has been done a lot so should be fairly straight forward. However in this film there are so many mouths to feed that the film has a whole load of different tales to tell. Aaron Pauls character has to deal with his own problems away from the main story whilst also interacting with the crew for the upcoming job. There is also a family aspect to Ejiofor's character too. In this film there is a whole lot going on. Problem with this is that it does become very jumbled up and keeps you away from the main story for quite a bit. It also makes the film become a bit more boring as there are stories that are more interesting than the others.
The timeline for this seemed a bit odd as well. Due to the results of the first heist, Vlaslov takes action and wants a new job done. However there doesn't seem to be a date for this and she just let's them carry on until they decide when they should do it. I find this odd that the leader wouldn't be pushing for this to be done more quicker. Just seemed so in order to continue all the different plot lines.
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| Kate Winslet as Irina Vlaslov |
I do feel that maybe they should of just focused on the relationship between Marcus Belmont and Chris Allen. Watching the new pairing and how it was planned for Allen to be used in a certain way was very good. I would've preferred the movie to have cut some of the other parts and add more depth to their story. It did show the discontent from Belmont at the start and you could see him getting closer to Allen. I feel this would've also made the film more interesting as well.
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| The new cop duo: Belmont (Mackie) and Allen (Affleck) |
I also thoroughly enjoyed the scenes where both the crime syndicate and the police were involved. The opening heist is very well done and is also pretty clever with them covering up everything that they do. This opened the film off greatly. My favourite scene of the film however comes when Allen is leading a team through a building whilst looking for a suspect. Most of this is taken in one shot and is very good. The dark environment with danger potentially around every corner built great tension and was really great.
The cast for this film is ever so impressive. You have the likes of Oscars nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck and Woody Harrelson alongside winner Kate Winslet. You also have a couple of gems or soon to be from the superhero movies with Anthony Mackie and Gal Gadot. There are also a couple of TV favourites in Aaron Paul and Norman Reedus. As you can see that is a pretty impressive cast which caters to a lot of different people. Apart from Kate Winslet's dodgy Russian accent everything from them was really good. I feel Casey Affleck and Anthony Mackie may have stood out from the rest and I really enjoyed these two performances. Also as a fan of The Walking Dead, it was great seeing Norman Reedus produce a strong performance.
The film was pretty predictable at times however especially with the finale. It was clear and easy to see what was going to happen in the end. Although it was predictable, they still build tension very well and was still entertaining. The film also has a load of twists with quite a lot of them being pretty effective.
Final Verdict: Triple 9 = B
Overall a good thriller with great performances from an impressive cast. Can slow down at times but does deliver when it needs to. I would say Triple 9 is worth checking out for sure.
So if you have seen Triple 9 what did you think of it? Once again thank you for reading, it is much appreciated!
By Angus McGregor
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