As the film’s professional soldiers see their ethics disappear, so too does the excitement in J. C. Chandor’s action saga
Like many films before it, J. C. Chandor’s “Triple Frontier” features an all-star cast of macho badasses, wielding high-powered arsenals as confidently as if they were shooting bullets from their own limbs. They drink beer. They listen to Metallica. They use the skills they’ve developed over a lifetime of war to make a lot of money and look damn good doing it.
But unlike a lot of films before it, “Triple Frontier” seems completely disappointed in those badasses. The script, by Chandor (“A Most Violent Year”) and Mark Boal (“Zero Dark Thirty”), sends a group of grizzled veterans into a high-stakes heist situation which — as you can imagine — goes horribly wrong, but the tragedy isn’t that they might not get the money. The tragedy is that they tried.
Oscar Isaac stars as Santiago “Pope” Garcia, who has been working in South America to apprehend a powerful kingpin named Lorea. After an unexpectedly panic-inducing shootout at a disco, Garcia learns Lorea’s location from one of his informants and immediately begins assembling a team of tough guys he can trust to get the job done.
Watch Video: Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac Need to ‘Hunt Quickly’ in New ‘Triple Frontier’ Trailer
There’s William “Ironhead” Miller (Charlie Hunnam), a veteran whose new job seems to consist entirely of giving de-motivational speeches to current soldiers, discouraging them from using their deadly skills in the private sector. There’s William’s brother Ben (Garrett Hedlund), who now makes a living getting pummeled in MMA fights. There’s the skilled pilot Francisco “Catfish” Morales (Pedro Pascal), who’s just had his pilot’s license suspended.
But most importantly, to these guys at least, there’s Tom “Redfly” Davis (Ben Affleck), whose heroism in the line of duty has been matched only by his lousy luck since leaving the military.
