Santiago Garcia (Oscar Isaac) unites his retired friends from the U.S. Special Forces to conduct a heist in the Colombian jungle in Netflix’s ‘Triple Frontier.’/Courtesy of Netflix
This year, Netflix landed a critical success in “Roma,” a film that it acquired. Unfortunately their original films are mostly unwatchable or simply forgettable. Although “Triple Frontier,” the latest off of the streaming service’s assembly line, is possible to sit through, it does not possess an impactful message.
The story follows Santiago “Pope” Garcia (Oscar Isaac), a government agent that brings his retired friends from the U.S. Special Forces back into the field for an unauthorized, rogue heist in the Colombian jungle. When things turn sour for the band of veterans, they fight for survival in the remote border zone where Colombia, Peru and Brazil intersect. The film’s ensemble cast includes Pedro Pascal as Francisco “Catfish” Morales, Ben Affleck as Tom “Redfly” Davis, Garrett Hedlund as Ben Miller, Charlie Hunnam as William “Ironhead” Miller and Adria Arjona as Yovanna.
If you’re looking for engaging action or drama, you’ll walk away from this film only partially satisfied. The story borrows elements from heist, drug bust and military movies, but fails to make them work together in a believable way, resulting in an unfocused and uncommitted final product. The film may have worked better had it fully commanded one genre; instead, it feels like an odd mesh of three movies in one. It is a jumble of gunfight sequences with no sense of structure.
For a drug-bust movie set in Colombia, the country’s infamous drug war acts more as a set piece than a legitimate plot point. The film fails to bring a new perspective to the conflict and the correlation between money and corruption. Pope is an agent who seeks to take down a major drug lord. However, his fellow policemen use cruelty to acquire information, proving they can be just as ruthless as their enemies. Later on, little is said about the morality surrounding the thieving and murdering done by Pope’s crew. Between them and the drug lords, it becomes hard to pinpoint the good from the bad. Director J.C. Chandor shows the dark sides of our heroes but fails to equally show their redeemable traits.
The buildup to the heist is a bit fast, given that the team is assembled with little delay and few setbacks. Any artificially created conflict shortly resolves itself and appears to exist only to drag out the film’s runtime. If the men do not agree to join Pope on his mission, there would be no movie, hence there are no real stakes leading up to the heist.
Pope, the central character, is easily the least interesting of the bunch. He is overshadowed by the more eccentric personalities, like Redfly, the violent loose cannon. Pope is probably the character audience members are supposed to relate to the most, but Isaac’s lifeless performance makes forming any connection challenging.
Something must also be said about the film’s excessive use of ’70s music. Too often, filmmakers try to score extra points with the audience by throwing in old hits for the nostalgia factor. When done lazily, however, the result is almost laughable. Usually, an epic tune like “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac would pair with an emotionally charged scene — not a bland exchange when a father drops his daughter off at school. In another example, the film takes the predictable route in playing Creedence Clearwater’s “Run Through the Jungle” as the characters arrive in the jungle for the first time.
Like other Netflix originals, including “Birdbox” and “Bright,” “Triple Frontier” feels rushed and generic, despite boasting a star-studded cast. One of the reasons these films fall short could be the sheer number of movies Netflix releases within a short amount of time. In 2018, Netflix released 80 original films while some of Hollywood’s biggest studios — Warner Bros., Universal and Sony — put out 82 projects combined. It seems, then, that an increase in quantity leads to a decrease in quality. My worry is that Netflix will continue its success with its current strategy: flooding the movie market with mediocre films, which will only encourage more second-rate projects in the future.
For the most part, the film’s characters are two dimensional and poorly designed. Ironhead stands out due to an odd quirk where he has to keep count of everything he does, such as how many times he kills someone. He is a breath of fresh air from the rest of the cookie-cutter crew but not very relatable. Likewise, Hunnam’s Australian accent is strong at times and breaks the illusion that his character is American. This awkward detail makes it seem like the film was rushed in the production process and did not give the actors enough time to prepare for their roles.
I found it hard to relate to Pope’s team, who seemed to be purely motivated by money. They commit several questionable acts, including killing civilians and bribing locals. One by one, I ran out of people to root for and, by the end, felt totally detached from the struggle of the movie’s “heroes.” For the most part, they are greedy and guiltless about their misdeeds. The film might have been stronger had the characters actually grappled with their actions, but their lack of remorse makes them seem inhuman. The only voice of reason comes from Ironhead, who keeps the others on track in carrying out their mission.
While I had gripes with the film’s character development and genre blending, the movie’s saving grace came with its cinematography and sound design. In particular, one mountain scene used beautiful wide angles and long shots to capture the excitement of a shootout in the Andes. I found myself instinctively flinching at the echoey gunshots that ricocheted off the boulders. At the film’s conclusion, certain side plots still felt unresolved. The relationship between Pope and Yovanna, for example, is never fully fleshed out and could’ve been left out altogether.
“Triple Frontier” is a mediocre action-heist film that is messy, soulless and tasteless. It had the potential to be a standout film in the vain of “Narcos” and “Sicario” but missed its mark. It’s a shame to see talents like Isaac and Affleck go to waste. Yet again, Netflix adds another stinker to the pile.
Grade: C+
Noah Whitfield (20C) is from Johannesburg, South Africa, majoring in creative writing and minoring in Spanish. His interests include making music, writing scripts and watching movies. Contact Whitfield at noah.christopher.whitfield@emory.edu.
