MOVIE REVIEW By Lucas Allen: ‘Triple Frontier’ fun, not deep

Triple Frontier
(Netflix/Atlas Entertainment)

By Lucas Allen

Ben Affleck may no longer be The Batman, but that won’t stop him from starring in action movies of all sorts for screens big and small. The new Netflix film “Triple Frontier” advertises itself as an action heist film starring a couple of well-known actors, using their brawn and talents to sell it as a thrilling film.

It’s co-written by Mark Boal, who knows how to write action dramas with a military aspect, having written the highly acclaimed Kathryn Bigelow-directed films “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”
Santiago (Oscar Isaac) leads a covert team to take down Brazil’s top drug lord, Lorea (Reynaldo Gallegos). Feeling disillusioned about the job, he gets intel from his informant/secret lover Yovanna (Adria Arjona) that Lorea has kept a lot of drug money at his secret home base. Back in America, Santiago reunites with some of his old friends from his army days. Realtor Tom (Affleck) is dealing with his divorce, William (Charlie Hunnam) is an Army recruiter, while his brother Ben (Garrett Hedlund) is an MMA fighter, and ex-pilot Francisco (Pedro Pascal) is William’s fight promoter. The five of them then discuss Santiago’s plan of robbing Lorea’s secret home and using the money to solve their financial woes.
Once they successfully break in and take out the guards, they manage to find the money and take as much as they can. But it soon becomes apparent to them that having that money puts their lives at risk. Not only they have to deal with hostile territory, but they’ll also have to deal with moral and trust issues within the group.
The movie does a fine job of setting up the story, with the main character of Santiago experiencing the action firsthand before he comes up with his plan. The first half breezes through the plot before the group’s mission happens around the 45-minute mark. There’s not much character development to make you care about the main characters other than the money troubles that fuel their desire to complete the mission. Basically, this is more like Santiago’s story before the group gets together for the greatest mission of their lives.
Fortunately, the movie gets better once the team succeedes in their mission, making a stronger second half. When they deal with their heavy loads of money and argue over their use, it becomes a suspenseful drama with some good action scenes. There’s a lot of heavy drama and the movie concludes on a good note, so they at least understand how to make a crowdpleasing war drama.
The main actors help elevate this film from being an average actioner. Isaac is very good, while Affleck proves to be just as convincing as his other great roles. Hunnam, Hedlund, and Pascal also do some good work here as very talented actors.
“Triple Frontier” will likely appeal mainly to fans of the actors, with scenes of suspenseful action. It mostly works because of the second half, as well as the fact it’s well-made and well-edited enough to make it a worthwhile experience. Just don’t expect anything deep and important out of this kind of movie.

THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for violence and language throughout)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3 Stars (Out of Four)