Triple Frontier

Five ex-soldiers venture into the South American jungle to steal tens of millions of dollars from a drug kingpin. But getting the money to safety will be much harder than they thought. Triple Frontier may look like an action movie, but while there is action (and good action), it relies much more on atmosphere, appealing characters and a more realistic approach. Instead of a film full of shootouts and chases, what we end up with is a slowly told gritty drama, but one that manages to get under the skin and is perhaps more interesting in the end than if it had a gunfight every ten minutes. (03/20/2019)

Netflix put together a bunch of solid Hollywood fellows in just as solid action movie in the vein of the legendary Three Kings with George Clooney. The action is solid, screenplay turned the champs a bit into idiots, but for stuff to happen it probably couldn’t have been any different. I only missed, just like with any action movie recently, a bit more catchphrases, which would make me think that the guys deserve to be called champs. Well, maybe next time. (07/05/2019)

I was expecting more intense action scenes, which didn’t quite materialize, and instead, I got a solid manly drama focusing on dialogue and, occasionally, some shooting. The opening scene with the helicopter over the dirty streets, accompanied by Metallica’s music, really got me pumped. The five main characters were extremely likable; the actors themselves are so charismatic that transferring that to their characters seemed easy. The heist happened in the first half. I give the film a big thumbs up for the realism of the action scenes—no emptying of magazines, just effective shooting with single, precise shots, checking room corners, basically things you’d expect from seasoned veterans on the battlefield (though not every film delivers this, rest assured). Then came the part of the film that I’d personally call...HOW EVERYTHING CAN GO WRONG. Whether it was the not-so-thought-out moves of the characters or just plain bad luck (the scene with the farmers significantly affected the plot), everything started to go south. The filmmakers also threw in a major twist that shuffled the deck. I’d usually be annoyed by an open ending, but here it fit well; the final scene with the piece of paper was satisfying. I enjoyed it; the acting was above standard, and for an action film, it had a decent plot that definitely didn’t play second fiddle. I give it 82%. (03/22/2019)

From a seemingly inconspicuous genre, a dense and thematically pleasant (anti?) military ride with surprising twists, related unexpected mood changes and fast pace has emerged. By shooting something like this, Peter Berg has taken the game of whispers to a totally new level. (09/16/2019)

Netflix pulls off a macho flick that switches genres from jungle heist, steamy relationship drama and survival adventure, and surprisingly it works. The cast is awesome and everyone involved is great: Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal and the unknown Garrett Hedlund, definitely an admirable lineup for Netflix. There's not that much action, but when it does come it's pleasantly bloody and clear. The suspense works, the locations are beautiful, there's one unexpected twist and an unexpected denouement at the end. I had a great time and it's a bit of a shame that we couldn’t see this film in the cinema. Netflix is headed in the right direction and I'm rooting for them. 80% (03/14/2019)