Movie Review: Triple 9 (2016)

Hello All,

I apologize for the time of the review, It’s been a long day and I got home late. I’m probably going to keep this one short because of that so let’s just get straight to it shall we?

Plot Summary - When a crew of criminals and corrupt cops gets corralled into pulling off a major heist, they realize that the best way to do it would be to pull a “999”, which is the police code for officer down. However when the personal lives of the men in the crew become complicated, they find that the heist, and the 999, will be harder than they imagined.

Pros - The very well cast actors are all on point. Special mention in my mind goes to both Woody Harrelson seems to be channeling his time on True Detective, and Aaron Paul as a member of the crew in turmoil over the whole situation. The heists in the film, as well as a few police raids, are well shot and intense, bringing a sense of urgency to them that’s always good to see in these kinds of films. I also really liked the look of the film, as it really captures the down and dirty work sense of the film. When the film was firing on all cylinders, it reminded a bit of my favorite film Reservoir Dogs, and in terms of the story it would probably be my first point of comparison.

Cons - Once the film gets rolling, you quickly realize it’s a different type of film than what you were expecting, which isn’t bad if you can curb your expectations, but if Drive taught me anything, that sometimes won’t work with people. While the story was enjoyable, I admit it does have its few moments you can kind of see coming. It also relies on Casey Affleck’s character relying a surprising amount of dumb luck too looking back on it. The actual heists themselves are a smaller part of the film than they lead you to believe, focusing more on the build up to them. This is where the film starts to show its flaws, as it drags on a bit too much on this aspect in an attempt to show off more of the cast’s great performances. The ending also leaves much to be desired, as despite everything that goes on it the film, it tries to leave off on a note that it doesn’t really earn. It’s not a bad ending, it’s just not as great as they clearly think it is. Norman Reedus is great in the film, but sadly he’s not in the film for a great amount of time (I blame that on the walking dead, and no I don’t watch it, and I won’t watch it.)

Final Score - 6/10

It’s an above average film, and while it’s not awful, it just doesn’t really live up to it’s full potential. I’m disappointed if I’m honest, but what we got instead is entertaining if uneven.

Next: Eddie the Eagle or Gods of Egypt - This one’s going to be a bit of a coin flip, as I will more than likely see a movie tomorrow, I just don’t know which one yet. It’ll be a spur of the moment type decision, so keep an eye out for that.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.