Ben Affleck dives back into action in ‘Triple Frontier’
Netflix movie goes old-school with some serious testosterone and gunplay in the heist thriller.
Even trading a Batarang for a machine gun, Ben Affleck is still a noteworthy action hero.
The new Netflix movie “Triple Frontier” (streaming now) takes the A-list actor to the jungles of Brazil for a mashup of military flick and heist thriller. Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal star as a group of friends and former Special Forces soldiers all struggling in their civilian lives. They decide to go on a mission for themselves rather than their country and steal millions by breaking into the remote guarded estate of a South American drug kingpin.
Here are a few thoughts we had while watching director J.C. Chandor’s “Triple Frontier,” which inserts a bit of emotional heft into a gung-ho 1980s-y macho extravaganza:
This is Ben Affleck’s ‘The Expendables,’ isn’t it?
Sylvester Stallone’s all-star soldiers seem to be on hiatus, so the former Batman gets his own here. An ex-military strategist who’s just not very good as a Realtor, Redfly (Affleck) is the leader of this rogue company that is called back into duty when his old pal Pope (Isaac) finds out the location of rich drug baron Lorea (Reynaldo Gallegos) while helping law enforcement and rounds up the right five-man crew to go outside the law.
This thing’s like a shot of action-movie Viagra.
Need a shot of cinematic testosterone? Because this movie, akin to the old-school action flicks of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris, is
like mainlining dudeness right into your veins. There’s only one female character in the movie, Pope’s informant Yovanna (Adria Arjona), who’s also kind of his girlfriend. Plus, there’s all manner of manly banter, curses and insults. Not to mention a guy called Catfish (Pascal), whose nickname’s origin is frustratingly never revealed. (We also wondered about Redfly, honestly.) That said, the guys fight among themselves but they really do care about one another, and their personalities come across thanks to good acting rather than character development. Which reminds us …
Oscar Isaac should be in more of these.
Sure, he’s cool as a hotshot “Star Wars” pilot and had an intriguing role as an Israeli intelligence agent in “Operation Finale.” But this guy can really sell a wideranging, complex character along with chasing a perp through a city, shooting bad guys and other assorted physicality. Just saying, if you were to do an American James Bond, Isaac would not be the worst choice.
The climax comes ridiculously early.
Although one would think that the heist would be the zenith of the tale – it’s the highlight of the movie, at least – it arrives sooner than you’d expect. Instead, much of the movie is the aftermath, as the guys have to escape with the money. Greed does a number on them, though, and they experience a bunch of travails on their journey, weighing wealth vs. life.
Never get in a helicopter weighed down by cash.
The guys make off with a lot of money, enough that their escape chopper has a hard time clearing the mountains in the Andes carrying it. Some whiteknuckle thrills in that sequence and the big heist, for sure, and a life lesson for those who feel like stealing from a drug lord.
The action’s not even the best part. (No, really.)
If you dig shoot-’em-up sequences, “Triple Frontier” has plenty, and they’re often the default. Yet what it does well – though not enough – is introduce the complicated motivations of characters and what has led them to this somewhat impossible mission. “It’s like they take your best 20 years and spit you out,” says Redfly, echoing the group’s thoughts that after serving their country, their lives should be better off – a theme also brought up in such films as “Thank You for Your Service” and “American Sniper.” It’s clear, though, that questionable decisions also take a toll. (After seeing Redfly drink and drive while taking his daughter to school, you pretty much question his judgment from then on.)
Netflix is the perfect platform for this film.
There’s something to be said for watching grizzled, gray-haired Affleck toting a machine gun through the jungle on a big screen. Yet he works just as well on any device you’ve got at your beck and call. For a starstudded affair that’s not great but not terrible either, “Triple Frontier” is definitely worth a watch for action junkies who have binged “Narcos” and already done the “Bird Box” challenge.