SPOILER FREE REVIEW FOR THIS MOVIE I’LL HAVE FORGOTTEN BY TOMORROW. I MEAN, IT’S ENTERTAINING AND ALL. BUT I WATCHED IT TWO HOURS AGO, AND I HONESTLY COULDN’T NAME A CHARACTER FROM THE MOVIE WITH A GUN TO MY HEAD. ENJOY.

Netflix are truly making strides in their ambitious mission to make movies comparable to the sort of high-quality we get from cinematic Hollywood movies. Granted, they’ve achieved mixed levels of quality (*cough* Bright *cough*), but the streaming service have also delivered fantastic entertainment, such as Annihilation, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and the critically-lauded Oscar Winner Roma. In 2019, Netflix are truly pulling out all the stops, with upcoming Martin Scorsese film The Irishman (the budget of which has ballooned out astronomically to around $200 million) and the perhaps ill-advised signing on of Michael Bay, who is bringing a new action movie called Six Underground (starring Canadian national treasure Ryan Reynolds) to streaming. But before those movies are released, we’ve been gifted Triple Frontier, a War-thriller which is resoundingly… fine.

Triple Frontier is a War-thriller directed by J.C. Chandor, based off a screenplay he wrote with Mark Boal. The film stars an ensemble cast, featuring Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal. The story centres around a group of former Special-Ops soldiers, who decide to attempt a daring heist from a South-American Drug-Lord without the knowledge of the government. Now, if it wasn’t evident from the title of this review, the fatal flaw of the movie is how cliché it is, particularly in the First Act, which borrows significant elements from similar movies which will be very apparent when you see them. Thus, the movie is ultimately forgettable for me. However, I’d also like to also reinforce that whilst the movie didn’t leave me mesmerised, it’s an entertaining venture that’s well shot and acted, with some Zero-Dark-30-esque action sequences which will be sure to satisfy War movie fans.

I’ll be concise in outlining Triple Frontier’s flaws. Aside from the aforementioned cliché nature of the film, the first Act does struggle along, with a slow build-up and the odd narrative corner-cutting which makes everything in the lead-up to the key action of the film seem somewhat convenient. Without divulging too much, Oscar Isaac essentially spends the first Act assembling his team of former Special-Operatives, and let’s just say that they don’t take as much persuasion to comply to an unauthorised mission as you’d think. The other problem is the characters, who I can only refer back to by actor names (not the greatest of signs), although the stellar performances make up for the lack of depth given to some of the protagonists.

Otherwise however, this is a definitively fine movie. The entertainment factor kicks into gear as soon as the first major action set-piece takes place, and the movie subsequently becomes much more interesting as it begins to delve into its themes, especially the effects of war. In terms of the action sequences themselves, you can tell very easily what’s going on (thanks to the minimal use of shaky-cam), and the movie is paced in such a way that we’re never overwhelmed with an onslaught of action-sequences, which I found refreshing and enjoyed. Additionally, the aesthetic of the movie was something I also appreciated. Its got a very visceral, gritty look and feel, similar in many ways to movies like Sicario, and this enhances the action and even just the dialogue scenes considerably.

As for the cast themselves, I thought they were great. I feel they did well to keep me engaged considering the sheer volume of exposition lines and the little characterisation evident in the script. They play well off each other, although one aspect of their relationship amused me (even though it’s not intended to be funny), that being the relentless hugging. I get that it’s a mark of respect and all that, but they just do it so frequently and in such weird circumstances. Arguably, it’s the only means the screenwriters could think of to introduce the pretence that these guys knew each other from way back when. There’s not a particularly exceptional or standout performance across the cast, although Isaac is charismatic as ever, and Affleck mumbles his way through the movie with the eyes of a man who’s dead inside, although this works for his character very well, surprisingly (I’m being hyperbolic: he’s a solid actor in reality. My apologies if you’re reading this, Mr Affleck).

I’ll be frank in saying that aside from the almost satirically by-the-numbers characters (Affleck plays a veteran who can’t pay for his girl to go to college for example), this is quite an enjoyable movie. Its got action, it sustains a gritty tone, and the cast are game and thusly stellar. If only the movie wasn’t so forgettable…

VERDICT: MEH

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