Netflix R-Rated Crime Heist Thriller Worth It For The Awesome Cast

I’ve never been a fan of Ben Affleck’s acting. He’s the same guy in virtually every film, and he’s not likable in any of them. And I don’t mean not likable in the way Ben Foster is creepy and gross and just awful in almost every film he’s in, but you still love to hate his characters.

Still, with Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, Adria Arjona, and Garrett Hedlund acting their butts off alongside him, Triple Frontier turns out to be a pretty good flick. 

The premise of Triple Frontier is that these guys, Tom (Ben Affleck), Pope (Oscar Isaac), William (Charlie Hunnam) and his brother Benny (Garrett Hedlund), and Francisco (Pedro Pascal) are all connected by their previous work in the military as Delta Force soldiers. Today, most of them are retired in various mundane jobs in Florida, but Pope is still in the game, working as a private military advisor. On his current job, he’s stationed in Colombia battling cartels.

When a beautiful informant, Yovanna (Adria Arjona) asks for his help getting her and her brother out of the country, he agrees. 

Yovanna tells Pope that the local cartel leader, Lorea, has $75 million stashed in his house in the jungle. To encourage his buddies to help him get Yovanna and her brother out, Pope travels to Florida and offers them a chance to not only do some good but also to rob this evil drug lord and get rich. They come up with a plan to get into and out of the country and to infiltrate Lorea’s house while he’s not there to get the money.

The titular “triple frontier” is represented by the fact that they have to fight cartel members, the local government, and each other to finally get the job done. 

And it’s not easy. The parts of Triple Frontier that involve planning and attacking are interesting enough. We meet the crew, we understand their strategies, and we cheer them on as they take on the bad guys.

The problem is, most of these guys seem to be pretty bad guys themselves. You get the sense that they’ve pulled similar jobs in the past, and Tom is the worst of them all. When they finally do find the money that appears to be nowhere in this empty house, Tom insists, like a bratty child, that they stay well past the time they were supposed to to continue to load the vehicles with far more cash than they could ever spend. 

It’s at this point that you just get irritated with Tom (and Ben Affleck) and with the movie in general. Of course, there had to be some conflict that made this job trickier than it at first appeared, but this just felt so over the top. The delay caused by Tom leads to a long, drawn-out escape through the Colombian jungle, hauling cash, starving, and arguing over petty issues.

The last third of Triple Frontier just falls apart and you stop caring if they ever get out. This movie could have been 30 minutes shorter than its two hour length and told a fast-paced story. 

GFR SCORE

Instead, you find yourself reaching for your phone to scroll social media until the credits finally roll in Triple Frontier. As a staunch lover of movies and of going to the theater, I’m so glad I watched this movie at home on my couch. And I’m proud of myself for not actually reaching for my phone.

The ending was satisfying for the most part, and I would encourage you to watch it for yourself, as some critics just love it. Then, you’ll have to come back here and tell me what you think.