In under a decade, Australian director John Hillcoat made three of my favorite films, The Proposition, The Road, and Lawless, so I entered Triple 9 with high expectations. It falls a tad short—it could stand to either gain an hour or sacrifice a few principal characters—but at its best, it is a finely crafted and exciting crime drama. The story tends toward the labyrinthine, but put simply: in Atlanta, a group of unethical detectives and former Special Forces operatives, indebted to the Russian-Israeli mafia, plan to distract law enforcement from their upcoming infiltration of a Homeland Security facility by murdering a cop on the other side of the city, precipitating a triple-nine (dead or injured policeman) call over the radio. Hillcoat constructs exceptional set pieces by blending pyrotechnic spectacle with a Michael Mann-style attention to detail and procedure; the opening sequence, a perfectly calibrated daytime heist undermined by a moment's greed and an explosion of red dye, is particularly searing. The film in general has an authentic air of foreboding, set as it is in a shadow-enshrouded Atlanta of severed heads and sordid strip clubs, and the storytelling cannot help but compel with its sustained crosses, double-crosses, and triple-crosses. If only there were more space, more breathing room: lasting a hair under two hours and featuring eight to ten central characters, Triple 9 threatens to trip over itself as it establishes personalities, feuds, and connections (familial, professional, romantic), often relying on cliché, coincidence, and contrivance as a shortcut, blunting the impact of a few climactic betrayals and conflicts because we are intrigued, but not invested on an emotional level.

B

In regard to the hyped cast, no one delivers a momentous performance, but I am surprised to say Anthony Mackie is best in show. The most charismatic and intense. Casey Affleck and Chiwetel Ejiofor are solid. Aaron Paul is...there. Norman Reedus seems awesome, but is dead 10 minutes in. Kate Winslet is fun and obviously game with her Russian accent, murderous stare, and Star of David bling, but she never quite transcends, "Oh, this sure is a change of pace for Kate Winslet." I honestly found Woody Harrelson a bit irritating here with his marble-mouthed delivery, false teeth, and heavy-handed cynicism. He always seems out-of-place and a bit too campy.

A muddled, by-the numbers Heat imitation that is severely hampered by the number of characters present. This could've worked better by focusing on just a few of them, but with so many people in the mix, everyone comes across as a cardboard cutout. Director John Hillcoat does a nice job imbuing a foreboding atmosphere into certain scenes, but it's a wasted effort and the movie is nothing to write home about. C

I loved it. Basically The Shield: The Movie.

Not as great as I was hoping, but it's not a bad film either just disappointing. There are too many characters to follow and you really don't have anyone to root for. It starts strong and the action sequences are well executed, but somewhere in the middle portion it gets really muddled and convoluted. As far as performances go Kate Winslet, Anthony Mackie and Chiwetel Ejiofor were defnitely the stand outs while everyone else is either just there or not in it long enough to make much of an impact.

I liked it in bits and pieces. The performances were good with Winslet coming out on top. The characters are not neatly drawn their motivations are undercooked but the movie as a whole works thanks to Hillcoat's direction. The first half is REALLY strong with a decent middle half but it falters in the final act. Still a good time to watching this movie.

6/10.

Triple 9

This is such a fantastic film. Really intense, mature, riveting cop thriller, like Heat mixed with Street Kings. Everyone is sensational in it. In particular; Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anthony Mackie, who the former I so wanted to get away, kill the Russian and get his kid, and the latter who was just really, really great playing the hard-type cop but with a conscience. I know Chiwetel can act very well, but I just loved watching. Mackie, on the other hand, has never convinced me, but in Triple 9 he is sensational. Then there's Casey Affleck, Aaron Paul (surprisingly good too!), Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet, Clifton Collins, Jr., and a to-die-for Gal Gadot. Such a great cast. Then there's an awesome on-going score to accompany this great story. People aren't making adult thrillers like this anymore, so thanks to John Hillcoat, who finally makes a straight-up classic. Best film of 2016.

A

A very good film, but it just didn't get quite under my skin. It's cool and gritty, the heists are executed well and the cast is well rounded. The film is very solid, and keeps up a high standard of criminal-cop thriller throughout but I never see it finding it's next gear to excellence. This is my first Hillcoat film and while it's very good, I didn't find anything that made it distinctive for me from a director's point of view. Maybe I had too high expectations from the start, that while it is one of the better films of the year so far without doubt, it didn't become the top film with a lasting impression that I hoped for.

B+

I loved his scene with the "I feel there's a something big going to happen" thing.

D

Awful movie.

Winslet is a joke as a Russian mobstress.
There is never any danger for Casey Affleck's character.
Harrelson auditioning for a lifetime role as some sort of law enforcement officer for Z list movies.
Cinematography shot like a DTV movie.
Script was DTV.

Basically it was useless drivel that should never have been made, or at least, made a lot better with the talent and the director involved.

Another one that wanted to dislike it, and (surprise surprise) ... did dislike it.