Review of Triple 9 (2016) by Quincytheodore — 12 Mar 2016

Grimy and unapologetically brutal, yet a bit too sporadic and fragmented for its own good.

In the spirit of creating authentic heist movie, "Triple 9" incorporates plenty of tactical strategy, gangland shootout and visceral treachery. It opens with rapid pace, and only able to maintain it partially due to too many erratic subplots which barely sync with each other. The actors do a respectable job on creating a sense of urgency, yet most of the characters are one dimensional and not entirely likeable.

Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a former special force forced to do Russian mob's bidding, meanwhile Chris Allen (Casey Affleck) is a detective recently transferred into the town. They will eventually cross path while Jeff Allen (Woody Harrelson), Chris' uncle in investigating a particular heist. The whole scene is bogged down with intricacy and it becomes problematic to tell many perspectives smoothly.

Actors deliver an intentionally crude depiction of shady or tired men, each of them has relative portion of screen time and they use it well. With the addition of Aaron Paul, Anthony Mackie and Norman Reedus, this is a solid crew, but it sometimes stumbles on the narratives. Direction would wallow too much on certain subplot without creating any investment.

The problem is their struggles, with the kid, job or family, are not easily approachable, especially since it tries to include multiple backstories and authoritative jargon. There are a few good moments, but these are standalone showcase. The continuity and build up are sketchy, this also includes the main point of views of Michael and Chris, which makes the movie feels lacking in term of the main leads.

It shines best under stress of gunfire and explosion. The action just feels like they are trained and choreographed with precision, even the bits where characters would stumble or react accordingly in the site. Blood and shot carry their weight nicely. Recent action movies like John Wick or Equalizer tell their stories with style, but this kind of razor blade authenticity is equally refreshing.

"Triple 9" has a raw muddy grit for the action, unfortunately it applies to the narrative as well.