Triple Frontier

On paper, the premise of Triple Frontier sounds like it could be a straight-to-DVD action flick.  But it’s written by Mark Boal, the Oscar winning writer of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, directed by the Oscar nominated J.C. Chandor, and stars an all-star cast of Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Pedro Pacal and Garrett Hedlund – meaning that the end result is a far more character-driven film than you may have been expecting.

Premise:  When disillusioned ex-special forces soldier turned private military advisor “Pope” (Oscar Isaac) learns that the drug warlord he’s been hunting for years is holed up in the Columbian jungle with a small fortune in cash, he tries to persuade his former unit, “Redfly” (Ben Affleck), “Catfish” (Pedro Pacal), “Ironhead” (Charlie Hunnam) and his brother Ben (Garrett Hedlund), to join him in an off-the-books mission to assassinate the drug lord and steal his fortune.  But even if the raid is successful, they’ll still need a plan to escape through the dense jungle and over the Andes Mountains with the stolen cash.

Review:

Triple Frontier is the latest film from Netflix to not only attract some A-list talent (both in front of, and behind, the camera), but to also genuinely compete with theatrical releases in terms of its scale and content.  This isn't some small-scale indie film, and instead feels like a “proper” big budget, cinematic, action thriller, that certainly benefits from some great on-location filming.

The major selling point from the off is the cast, which is one of the most impressive casts that Netflix have assembled for a project.  Oscar Isaac stars as Santiago “Pope” Garcia, a private military consultant working as an advisor to the Columbian police in their efforts to tackle the local drug kingpin, Lorea.  Isaac brings many layers to Pope, who in some moments can seem like a warm, funny and friendly guy, but in others can seem unreadable, ruthless and potentially capable of anything.  Ben Affleck is the retired unit’s former commander, Tom “Redfly” Davis, who is struggling to make ends meet in civilian life as he attempts to support an ex-wife and his daughter while failing epically as a realtor.  Affleck’s character is just as engaging as Isaac’s, as Redfly is initially the most reluctant to re-enter the military world he’s left behind, but ultimately his financial desperation and Pope’s cajoling gets him to relent.

“…‘Triple Frontier’ is almost like three separate movies in one…”

The closest the film has to an “everyman” character is probably Charlie Hunnam’s William “Ironhead” Miller, who starts the film giving lectures to younger army personnel about how he’s never found anything in civilian life that’s given him the same sense of purpose that serving in the military did.  Ironhead is the audience surrogate as Pope attempts to recruit the rest of the team, as he’s happy to come along … provided the rest of the team is.  Pedro Pacal is the unit’s pilot, Francisco “Catfish” Morales, who’s currently unable to fly due to a drug bust, and who has clearly lost his moral compass since leaving the military.  The team is rounded out by Ironhead’s younger brother, Ben Miller (played by Garrett Hedlund), who makes a living fighting as a small-time cage fighter.

The tone of Triple Frontier is almost like three separate movies in one.  The early part of the film follows Pope as he attempts to put a team together, Danny Ocean style, for the heist he has planned.  Like in Ocean’s Eleven and similar heist films, this recruitment section allows the audience to spend some time with each of the team, to build an understanding of their characters and motivations before the mission itself.

“…the film is as much a character drama as it is an action thriller…”

The second section of the film has the feel of a “men on a mission” movie, as the team plan, and then attempt to execute, their raid on Lorea’s compound.  They are aided by Pope’s informant, Yovanna (played by Adria Arjona), who – like Isaac’s Pope - is a character who is very difficult to read at times.  The competing loyalties between these characters helps to up the suspense in what is a very well-staged and tense middle act.

Without giving too much away, the film is called Triple Frontier for a reason, and it lives up to its title in the final section of the film.  It’s here that the location – the point deep in the South American jungle where the borders of Columbia, Brazil and Peru all meet – takes centre stage, as the film becomes as much a character drama as it does an action thriller.  It’s in this section that the cast really get a chance to sink their teeth into the material, and you can see why Mark Boal’s story attracted such a talented cast and director.

“…the action is sparse – but when it comes, it’s fast, brutal, tense & unpredictable…”

All in all, Triple Frontier is a fairly sombre, and perhaps even melancholy, action thriller, that has more in common with the tone of Sicario than it does with your typical heist movie or special-forces action flick.  And like Sicario, the action scenes are sparse – but when they do come, they are fast, brutal, tense and unpredictable.  And between the action, there is plenty of room for the film to breath, allowing J.C. Chandor to crank up the tension, and the talented cast to dig into their characters.  Those expecting a switch-your-brain-off popcorn action flick may be disappointed, but fans of character driven action thrillers should definitely check this out.