Review of Triple 9 (2016) by Greg B — 06 Mar 2016

Reliable statistics regarding how many corrupt cops there are in America are hard to come by, but by all accounts, the vast majority of all law enforcement officials are well-trained, hard-working, honest individuals who do the best job they can under challenging, complicated and sometimes life-threatening conditions. Unfortunately for them, there aren't many movies made (or cell phone videos, for that matter) about good cops doing the right things. Gritty stories about corrupt cops sell more movie tickets. And why not? Those of us who respect the police still enjoy the occasional crooked cop film - if it has a good story - and the bad guys get what they deserve. So, does "Triple 9" (R, 1:55) fit the bill?

The first big scene in the movie shows us a gang of masked men robbing an Atlanta bank with military-style planning and precision - and a clear understanding of how long they have to take care of their business in the bank before police will arrive. Even when we get to know these men, we don't know how they initially got together, but they're clearly professionals... well, most of them are. Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is the leader of this gang of five. He's a former military special operator, as is fellow gang member Russell Welch (Norman Reedus), who was the driver at the bank job. These two work with two corrupt cops, Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) and Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins, Jr.). The last member of the crew is Russell's little brother, Gabe (Aaron Paul), who is the one sensitive criminal in this gang, and also the biggest screw-up. Although none of these guys are winning a Man of the Year Award any time soon, the reasons they pull the jobs in the movie extended beyond just pure greed. They have become entangled with Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet), the wife of an imprisoned Russian mob boss - and she threatens the lives of the families of the members of Michael's gang in order to get what she wants.

What Irina wanted from the bank was a single safe deposit box, which contained information that could free her husband... but the contents of the box end up containing only part of what Irina needed. She refuses to pay Michael and company until they pull one more heist for her, a demand that she backs up with threats and violence. The second job involves the gang breaking into a facility run by the Department of Homeland Security. They agree that they'll never be able to get in and out before Atlanta's finest arrived on the scene... unless the police response could be somehow delayed. Marcus suggests killing a cop to create the necessary diversion. He explains that "Code 999" means "officer down", a radio call that would send every available cop in the city racing to the scene. The others agree with the plan, but they're not all exactly enthusiastic about it. Marcus suggests his new straight-arrow partner, Chris Allen (Casey Affleck), as the sacrificial lamb and uses the investigation of a gang killing (that left three severed heads on the hood of a car) to talk to bad dudes like Luis Pinto (Luis Da Silva) who might help out with his plan. Hovering over this scenario is Chris' uncle, Detective Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson) who himself has gotten pretty jaded over the years, but is determined to protect his young nephew. Let's just say that the goals and desires of all these characters become... challenging.

"Triple 9" is original and entertaining, but very dark. Its gritty reality reminds me of 2006's "Miami Vice" film and the impressive heists reminded me of a hardened version of the "Oceans" films. Putting corrupt cops together with former military in a single gang is interesting, and almost as unusual as seeing orthodox Jews as Irina's henchmen. The ensemble cast is great (and, according to director John Hillcoat, pretty tough to get together considering how in demand they all are). Watching them is especially entertaining when you realize that this is the first time that you've seen some of them playing such nasty characters. (The last time Affleck was in a movie with Harrelson - in 2013's "Out of the Furnace" - Harrelson was trying to kill Affleck. Besides that, the dedicated detective from "Secret in Their Eyes" and Falcon from those Marvel movies have both turned out to be downright unheroic. And to think that Young Rose from "Titanic" ended up as a Jewish Russian mob boss. Jack would be so very disappointed!).

Come to think of it, these characters may just be a bit too nasty. It's a little hard to believe that a gang of people with such a low average morality quotient would include police officers and former military members - and the number of unanswered questions in the story makes it even harder to believe (or completely understand) what we're seeing. I also found the ending unsatisfying and anti-climactic. Either way, if you watch this movie as if you were involved in a high-speed police chase through a bad neighborhood, ignoring the distractions, keeping your eyes on the road and not worrying about what happens when the chase comes to an end, you'll be in for a pretty wild ride. If you like cop movies (even if they're dark) and heist films (even if there are hardly any good guys), this is the movie for you. "B".