Typically, Netflixs (so far limited) forays into theatrical releases serve primarily to signal which of their movies they consider major awards contenders (or which of their filmmakers simply insist on some manner of theatrical availability). In that respect, their new movie Triple Frontier is neither here nor there. Its receiving a limited and exclusive theatrical release starting today, for one week before it arrives on Netflix on March 13th. Its not an awards play, nor is it a low-budget quickie. Its a serious but not especially rigorous dramatic thriller aimed at adults, with a bunch of familiar faces, including a couple of real movie stars-exactly the kind of movie big studios used to make with a lot more frequency. In fact, Netflix took over the film from Paramount after several false starts that cycled through a variety of different stars.
The stars this version lands on are Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac, playing two members of a tight-knit group-former Special Forces operatives who have scattered after the end of their military careers. Santiago (Isaac) arranges a reunion when, through a contract job in South America, he discovers that the group could assassinate a powerful drug lord and make off with a chunk of his massive fortune. He frames it for his buddies as a mission where they perform a net good, but finally get paid for it; its not an ineffective pitch, especially given that we first see Tom (Affleck) unsuccessfully attempting to sell a crummy condo, civilian life not exactly agreeing with him. Ben (Garrett Hedlund) makes a living as a low-rent ultimate fighter, while his brother William (Charlie Hunnam) goes around giving do-it-for-your-country pep talks to young military recruits. Francisco (Pedro Pascal) has a hard time finding work after a drug arrest. Though some of the group is reluctant to pick their guns back up and head into the jungle, they all recognize that a paycheck gig may be long overdue.
The screenplay, by Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty) and director J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost; A Most Violent Year) foregrounds financial motivation, but in a manful, relatively uncomplicated way. Triple Frontier isnt exactly a deep dive, psychologically, and though it splices the men-on-a-mission military thriller with the mechanics of a heist movie, its not as adventurous in its genre riffing as, say, Steve McQueens Widows, from last fall.
The five lead actors have an easy enough chemistry-its about time someone cast wandering It Boys Hedlund and Hunnam as brothers!-but few of the characterizations have much detail. Theres the Honorable Soldier, the Wilder Soldier, the Pragmatic Soldier and, in the movies most vivid portraiture, Affleck as the Divorced Dad Soldier. Tom has evidently tried harder than any of the others at re-assimilating into normal civilian life, and Chandor gives his failures (living in his exs garage, sipping beer while driving his teenage daughter around, being a terrible realtor) more screen time to sting and linger. Affleck, often strongest in character-actor mode, gives a sturdy, low-vanity performance.
Ultimately, Toms story just adds a few grace notes to the movies exposition. Most of Triple Frontier is dedicated to the heist and its aftermath, giving Chandor a chance to indulge his genre skills. Both All Is Lost and A Most Violent Year had genre elements, and might have even been more convincing as methodically paced thrillers than as drama. Triple Frontier moves more quickly, but it has plenty of the deep-black shadows that Chandor favored in Violent Year. The few who see it on a big screen will get their moneys worth, visually speaking. When the team sneaks into the drug dealers jungle mansion, the tension is impressively sustained, even in moments that arent calibrated for maximum suspense.
In a lot of heist movies, that tension derives from whether the criminals will be able to get away with their thievery, and improvise their way out of any unanticipated tight corners. Triple Frontier doesnt bathe in gloom, but Chandor creates enough unease that the suspense comes more from how and when things will go wrong, not whether or not theyll go right. In its final stretch, the movie turns into more of a survival story with touches of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Its compelling, and more than a little old-fashioned, which is sometimes a relief; these days, movies like Triple Frontier are more often made by Peter Berg starring Mark Wahlberg (who was attached to this one at one point), and manage to be flashier, nastier, and more solemnly patriotic all at once.
Theres some stoicism in Triple Frontier, too; its not exactly a romp, nor is it particularly thought-provoking beyond its observation that veterans are often left in precarious and unfair financial situations. As it turns out, Netflix has swooped in and rescued a more retro form of casual couch-watching: A movie that, if not for its relatively current cast, could have manifested directly onto TNT on a Sunday afternoon sometime in 2002.