Woody Harrelson as Sergeant Detective Jeffrey Allen
Review: by Chris
The crime genre is home to some of the most stories compelling in film. From Training Day, Heat, and The Departed, getting into the thick of the criminal underground gives for some fascinating and violent results. Crime films with dirty cops are even more intense and Triple 9 looks to hit on all the marks of a great crime drama. Director by John Hillcoat, known for his hard, tough films like The Road and The Proposition, we get a really tough look at bad people trying to make a lot of money.
After a major bank robbery almost turns bad, a crew in the pocket of a ruthless Russain crime family need a distraction for another high-stakes job. It’s decided that they do a “triple 9” which is the murder of a cop. However the cop they plan to kill is a young rookie they greatly underestimate, which leads to a series of events with explosive results.
What I Liked:
The cast. WOW, I mean this is one of the best, quietest ensemble casts I’ve seen in a while. From mainstays like Kate Winslet and Woody Harrelson, to “hey isn’t that that guy” actors Norman Reedus and Casey Affleck, this film is filled with recognizable faces going in deep with the characters. A breakout is Chiwetel Ejiofor as the head of the crew Michael. His quiet menace and deep focus gives a character without too much of a backstory, a crazy amount of depth through mostly just looks and a commanding swagger.
The Tone. From the opening, this movie gets straight to the point. This is a TOUGH movie. This isn’t glamorous cops and robbers, this is hard violent, street level crime mixed with highly tactical heights. Guns are shot and blood is spilled, though not gratuitous the violence is definitely there and is a remainder that the world the characters inhabit is a hard one. The violence never feels sensationalized, its portrayed as gruesome, damaging and final. The Heat-esque soundtrack mixed with ambient hip hop during the street level events is never distracting and keeps up the intensity.
The story. Don’t let the trailers fool you, this isn’t a cops-vs-robbers story in its typical form. You have multiple plots and motivations for all of the main players that happen to intersect in usually unique ways. It’s both a heist movie and a cop drama, mixing elements of Heat with Training Day. Without spoiling a lot, the mix of dirty cops in the main heist crew creates some very intense moments and keeps the movie moving at a strict pace. Characters are strong and nuanced without too much exposition, their personalities shown with their actions, rather than their words.Intense. And I don’t mean that in the action-packed way. The story leads the characters into situations that are doomed from the start or ruined by some unforeseen elements keeping the audience itching to see what was next. The opening bank robbery scene in particular was nail biting, as you felt like everything could fall apart at any moment, and when things did go wrong, the characters reacting leads to some moments where I wasn’t sure how they would get out. Going back to the tone, this pacing is rough, as one is expecting things to go south every second.
Intense. And I don’t mean that in the action-packed way. The story leads the characters into situations that are doomed from the start or ruined by some unforeseen elements keeping the audience itching to see what was next. The opening bank robbery scene in particular was nail biting, as you felt like everything could fall apart at any moment, and when things did go wrong, the characters reacting leads to some moments where I wasn’t sure how they would get out. Going back to the tone, this pacing is rough, as one is expecting things to go south every second.
What I Didn’t Like:
Some of the story beats, though presented well, were conventional and predictable. Without exposition, many of the characters initially fall into safe stereotypes and many stay there. A lot of this is saved by the acting, as good as the story is, the characters can come off as one note, and with a lesser cast would make for a much less engaging movie. Also, a lot of the drama comes from characters conveniently being in places and situations not because of logic, but because the story needed them there. Too many coincidences cleaned things up by the end.
4
Summary
A solid and tense crime thriller, Triple 9 didn’t really have a reason being this solid. Considering its nothing groundbreaking in terms of characters and story, the acting and tone made for a satisfyingly gripping drama. An unreasonably stacked cast allowed for some conventional drama to be pushed in an unconventional direction. Building a strong foundation on its hard world and it’s cast Triple 9 goes down as a better than average gritty drama.
