Another Netflix film comes in the form of Triple Frontier, and you have to be impressed with the cast that these Netflix films are able to pull together. With Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, and Pedro Pascal all being names I am well aware of, I certainly had my curiosity piqued about this drama thriller. I say drama thriller because despite how the trailer would show the film, it has pretty much given away the majority of the action in it; the rest of the film boils down to more of a survivor film than an action-packed paramilitary heist.
So the synopsis basically says that this group of ex-Special Forces men (who have been used and discarded by the US military) are going out to plan a heist so that they have something to show for their careers. But things go wrong and they end up fighting for survival. So yeah, the film has two main aspects to it, the heist and the survival. This first half is the part that your general action movie fan will love. There are some recognisable and understandable characters that are introduced; Oscar Isaac's character is introduced in the opening scene via a very exciting munitions-fuelled raid. The action scenes are slick, with some great effects and high-paced cinematography and editing.
The latter half of the film does slow down considerably, and there is a certain point in the film where the audience can feel that things aren't right, and from that moment on the pace of the film drops off, but the tension increases tenfold.
Because this isn't an action flick. This is a drama that focuses on the variable ethical and moral compass of each character. That is the driving force of the film, but at the same time, it's the reason why the film struggles to really keep you engaged. You have a team of five protagonists who are committing a questionably justifiable act, and as you try to empathise with a character, they fall from grace, and you learn where their moral compass truly lies in the face of adversity, at it leaves you uncomfortable. No matter which character you pick, there are moments that have you questioning whether you like them or not. Without a "good" lead to consistently follow, the audience ends up being taken out of the film, so it doesn't help with immersive-ness. Perhaps Charlie Hunnam should have been the lead in the film over Oscar Isaac; a different perspective could make a hell of a difference.
Outside of the overall feel of the film, the cast is top-notch. I'm loving this post-Batman gloomy and grizzled Ben Affleck, and Oscar Isaac really pulls off the charismatic but unhinged persona. You do have to question whether such big names were necessary though. Apart from each of their introductory scenes, the protagonists have very little character development. There is an informant role that was very well done but left me wanting more. Needed either a greater role, or taken out completely as the performance felt full of significance, but ultimately had little effect.
Thematically speaking, Triple Frontier has a wealth of ideas but doesn't really go into any of them deeply. While the driving force of the film looks at the emotional cost to each character and the degradation of their own code of ethics and morals, the direction of the latter half of the film leads to the film feeling slow, yet still jumps through significant emotional events with little time to truly reflect on it. You don't get a chance to contemplate the importance of each piece of dialogue before you are thrown into another scenario and it's never really mentioned again.
The film is very streamlined though, and apart from its ability to skip over things too quickly, the lack of subtlety around each of the characters one-dimensional traits means the film is really easy to follow. You know exactly when an action is an affront to who they claim to be. It's blunt and to the point, with very little unnecessary dialogue.
The film also has a fun soundtrack. With a visual atmosphere that looks like a Vietnam war film crossed with 1987s Predator, the tracklist of songs fits in great and includes the likes of Metallica, Pantera, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Rival, and Fleetwood Mac.
With such big-name actors and such a strong start to the film, in the end, I found myself wanting more. The emotional film struck me as a different take on the usual action flick, but the actors that were chosen really don't have the emotional dexterity needed to pull this off. It felt rather sterile, cold, and overall I couldn't care less what happened to any of the characters. It entertained me, but I certainly don't think I'll ever need to see this again.