Triple 9 Is An Overstuffed Training Day | Movie Review
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Director: John Hillcoat | Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Winslet, Anthony Mackie
Runtime: 115 Minutes | Rating: R | Score: 3/5
My first glimpse at Triple 9 had me excited even though I had absolutely no idea what was going on in that trailer. What did bleed through was the David Ayer-esque atmosphere that director John Hillcoat was portraying in Atlanta instead of the usual L.A. streets.
At first, it's baffling to see the number of storylines that are running through this film or even who the "main" character is. Hillcoat, following in the footsteps of Heat, tells the story of a group of corrupt cops and special ops who pull heists in order to "pay back" the Israeli-Russian mob led by Irina (Kate Winslet). Within this corrupt group, we have Michael (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who has the biggest stakes as he has a child with one of the mob members and Marcus (Anthony Mackie) who is the one cop we follow the most. Things start to intensify when the mob wants the group to embark in another dangerous heist while Marcus gets partnered with Chris (Casey Affleck), an ambitious recently transferred cop who is set on making a difference.
The Good:
Triple 9 is effective in making you never want to visit Atlanta the same way Out of the Furnace makes you want to stay away from Braddock, PA. The streets are riddled with crime and the films cinematography captures the corruptness perfectly up to the heavy reds that swell up the film's aesthetic.
Hillcoat also does a phenomenal job filming the heists as well as the on foot street chases that make the audience feel the tension. From the opening bank robbery, we get nice subtleties such as the language tactic, the way they con the owner, and the setup of their getaway. That scene is then one-upped by the house raid scene which puts you front and center of the invasion, instilling in you the fear of not knowing what may pop up in the adjacent rooms.
The film boasts an A-list cast that, while not getting fully fleshed stories, do get enough screen time with one another. At a certain point, however, you realize that instead of cramming everything into a 2-hour film, it would've been better developed as a miniseries.
The Bad:
There's too much going on.
While for me, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing while watching the movie, it does start to hurt it afterwards when you notice how much was missing from the story. From small things like wondering who the kid's mother was, to what kind of relationship Michael and Irina had -- seriously, if they have history, why do they act like strangers towards each other? -- we see that major chunks just weren't fleshed out and that, again, would be better served as a series on HBO.
While I wasn't expecting characters from The Departed, I was surprised to see how many were either two-dimensional or literally just playing the character types they're known for. Norman Reedus is practically Daryl without the crossbow and Aaron Paul is Season 5 Jesse from Breaking Bad. The worst part, however, is how the movie has these relatively "successful" con-artists make so many idiotic mistakes. While Woody Harrelson isn't a part of the main group, it's his character that commits the most sins.
By the end credits, I give Triple 9 a RENT IT. There's enough to like about it with tense sequences that are directed beautifully with an all-star cast. But if you think you're going to get a fleshed out story, then you'll need to wait for it's future TV adaptation.
