Danielle Solzman
Triple Frontier takes us to the Brazilian jungle as a a group of former Special Forces soldiers team up together for one last mission together.
As the film starts, Santiago “Pope” Garcia (Oscar Isaac) is working with police in Brazil to take down Gabriel Martin Lorea. He soon learns information from Yovanna (Adria Arjona) that Lorea never leaves his money. After one mission fails, the first thing Pope does is track down William “Ironhead” Miller (Charlie Hunnam). One by one, we’re meeting everyone on the team, including the ever-reluctant Tom “Redfly” Davis (Ben Affleck). Before Ben Miller’s (Garrett Hedlund) MMA fight, the whole group reunites including now-unlicensed pilot Francisco “Catfish” Morales (Pedro Pascal). It’s a dangerous mission so it takes some time but they eventually decide to do it for Pope. The chance to become a multi-millionaire is not an opportunity to be missed.
Just when you think they’re about to get away Scot-free, everything goes haywire. Nobody said this was going to be an easy mission. Rather than being a piece of cake, the five of them find themselves pushed to the brink. Pope got everyone into this mess and sure enough, he’s going to lead them out of it. But again, easier said than done here.
J.C. Chandor was three for three going into the release of Triple Frontier. After my viewing of the film this week, it’s safe to say that the director is a perfect four for four. This time around, the director teams up Mark Boal on the screenplay. It’s safe to say that the two of them do a solid job with bringing a strong story here.
Chandor manages to assemble an all-star cast in this new feature. None of us are likely to think of Ben Affleck as the guy to do Netflix films but sure enough, he’s the first billed actor in the film. Oscar Isaac reteams up with his A Most Violent Year director for yet another go-around. It’s a much different performance for the Star Wars actor as they go down to the jungle.
I’m writing about this film from having been able to take it in by way of a theatrical experience. Much has been said about Netflix and releasing their films in theaters but watching this film in theaters was the best experience for me. If I watched the film at home, I wouldn’t have been able to take it in the same way and no doubt would have been distracted more than once. While I understand it may be different for others, I will always pick the theatrical experience if I have this option. The sound design isn’t as impressive as Roma but that’s beside the point. Going to the theater enhances an experience that simply wouldn’t exist on a basic 32-inch television.
If you have the option to see Triple Frontier in a theater, you should.
DIRECTOR: J.C. Chandor
SCREENWRITERS: J.C. Chandor and Mark Boal
CAST: Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and Pedro Pascal
