Triple 9 is a dark and gloomy story, which feels strongly inspired by Michael Mann's Heat. Unlike Heat, the film/script doesn't give the characters enough substance to make us care for their outcome in the film. The ordeals of the characters came and went without me feeling any real emotions towards any of them.
This isn't a bad movie but it's not brilliant. There are a few of gun battle/action periods that are really well shot and entertaining enough to keep you interested in the film as a whole. It's not too predictable but there are not enough shocks or tense moments that you would expect from a thriller.

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I am at a split when it comes to 'Triple 9'. On one end, there were few moments where I did enjoy the film. The actors are powerhouses and did what they could with the material given to them. Some plot points were interesting to me and had my attention and lastly, I am sure there is a certain symbolism behind the constant use of the color red that is shown in a high majority of scenes. On the other end, however, there was way too much I did not enjoy. From start to finish, I hardly understood any of the characters connections to anyone. They are explained in as little detail as possible. It just was not my cup of tea as far as understanding who the characters were and what was their purpose. Kate Winslet was absolutely atrocious to me. From her seemingly forced role to her forgetful 'Russian accent' as she seemed to forget she was Russian at times speaking perfect English and bouncing back to an 'accent'. The fan- favorite star power of Norman Reedus, Aaron Paul, Chiwetel Ejiofor and company was no where near enough to save this movie and draw enough of a crowd to make this movie even mistakenly good. Too many negatives and not enough positives. This movie is forgetful to me and nothing special. A few moments do not make up for a near two hours of confusion and plot holes.

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A crew comprising bent cops and crooks are forced into carrying out a complex heist for Russian gangsters in order to get paid.
My synopsis is skeletal: it was either that, or go into great detail about a plot which is superficially complex by virtue of the number of different groups and subgroups involved, with crossover between them. This apparent complexity hides a relatively straightforward story which, itself, is cluttered up with texture and detail which obscures the main plot line (there is an extended sequence involving the graphic aftermath of a gangland slaying, the purpose of which is to illustrate relationships between certain of the characters and introduce a couple of minor characters who have important actions later, but this scene is given such detailed attention that one is misled into believing that it has greater plot relevance than is actually the case).
A good and powerful cast work hard to bring life to a thriller which, I think, has rather less to it than meets the eye. Kate Winslet impresses by looking and sounding nothing like Kate Winslet, and pretty nearly everyone in this gives a good performance.
But I was left puzzled at the end because I never felt the film had a sense of purpose to it – the events happened and each character suffered a particular fate and then it ended. Yes, I know you can say that about most films, but the stakes in this were so high that I was expecting a resolution to the film which meant more.

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Worth a look if you like urban action. There's a lot of action. The good guys and bad guys are really blurred but that's a modern flick for you. The police gang unit team line up to go after a gang member in group housing, up stairs and into the apartment was legendary. Great camera work. You felt like you were lined up with them. Worth the price of admission. After viewing, very few audience members would want to A: Become a police officer in Atlanta, B: Be tasked with arresting a gang member who knows you're coming. Adrenaline time. That's the good, along with plenty of recognizable actors doing representative jobs with what they have to work with. Now for the Not as Good: The plot is there but it is ephemeral. You can kind of follow it but the exposition makes you strain for it. I'd like to say that's on purpose to add an element of mystery but I'm not real sure that's so. Not a thinking person's movie. I've seen worse plots but the bones don't hold up the body to make it recognizable enough, at least for me. By the end you can figure it all out but it isn't built up a block at a time. I enjoyed it and gave it a 7 but it's about a 7.5. Maybe a triple 7?

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Since The Proposition was unleashed on audiences back in 2005, Aussie filmmaker John Hillcoat has made a name for himself as an uncompromising and ambitious auteur, bringing together A-list casts for bleak and uneasy thrillers. His latest Hollywood effort – following The Road and Lawless – dives into the grubby underground of Atlanta, where corrupt cops, ruthless bank robbers and Russian mobsters are often one and the same. A nice world this ain't. There's an unrelenting grimness to this noir-ish street saga that generates the desired mood, and the high level of dread permeating throughout proceedings maintains tension despite a predictably death-happy final act. Yet Hillcoat struggles to fully wrangle Matt Cook's twisty-turny screenplay; what could've been an intriguing web of lies, double-crosses and daring crimes becomes a less believable concoction of coincidences, plot contrivances and dubious character choices. Taking a leaflet out of Michael Mann's book of realistic action, the handful of set pieces are executed with flair, precision and unwavering violence, with an extended gun fight at the halfway point harking back to Mann's own Heat (albeit without topping it). Unfortunately the film is also let down by its vast array of players. Other than Casey Affleck's honest but worn-down cop, everyone else is evil and unpleasant to varying degrees – and rarely more than a caricature – making it hard to care about their fates. Hillcoat's menacing tone and visual ferocity ensure a certain level of interest and entertainment, but narrative and character weaknesses stop Triple 9 from being essential viewing.

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I'll make this short and sweet.
I really wanted to like this movie. With its insanely talented cast, this should have been way better than it actually was. It is well acted, and the cast did the best they could with the material given to them.
However, it all gets lost in what tries to be a convoluted plot. This wants to be a really good heist movie (with very well executed action scenes, granted), but in reality it is just a sub-par, predictable action movie filled with your run of the mill, dirty cop dialogue filling the scenes trying to move the plot forward. Rent it for a rainy evening, but don't expect anything you haven't already seen.

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I went into this movie with high expectations, but alas, I was let down. Good actors and a plausible story, but inevitably Triple 9 fails to deliver. There are no characters I could really root for with the possible exception of Casey Affleck (just a little). I found myself yawning several times throughout - it just didn't hold my interest. No real back story so it's hard to fathom what these characters are really all about. Some sexy girls, guys with tattoos and attitude and bad cops. The bank robbery at the beginning was the most exciting part and it's downhill from there. Somehow I didn't buy Kate Winslet as a badass. The best line in the film was Woody Harrelson's reference to the Kosher Nostra - that actually got a few laughs. Don't say you weren't warned.

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All right, I see you coming '3/10 he's severe!' Well, this movie is too contrasted as it first shows you a very promising story with a pretty famous cast but as the film goes you get more and more frustrated...
Triple 9 fails to deliver the story, very too often I felt that the acting was poor except for Woody Harrelson, maybe it's because he played True Detective and it reminds me of a great season one of the TV-Series. That said, as the story goes on, you barely understand the links between the characters, neither their true motive. Chiwetel Ejiofor was the most disappointing as to me he really didn't fit in his role, he didn't convince me at all. Kate Winslet was also not fit to be this ruthless Russian mob boss (or wife as we don't understand for sure...). Many scenes are also totally random and makes you feel awkward.
There was good parts and good ideas but very not well exploited. Too bad !

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went to this movie was excited by the trailer and boy was I wrong. the original story that the talented cast signed up for was awesome I assume something then happened as this movie was a jangled mess and almost was a bipolar experience. there was too many subplots too little time for talents like woody harrelson and kate winslett instead of a quality crime drama we were exposed to a plot that veered all over the place. the premise of crimes being done by cops was intriguing but junk like the subplot of the child , Russian mob was just way out there. just a waste of time and this movie could be a easy front runner for a raspberry award.

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The cast for this film really made me want to see this film but unfortunately this film fails to deliver. The premise of this film sees a group of bank robbers trying to make there last score with a unique method. Chiwetel ejiofor plays the main robber and he is a great actor. He does the best job possible in this role its just that his character is so unlikeable that you end up not caring about him. Casey Affleck plays the good cop in this film and He does a really good job in the role and probably gives the best performance in the film. Another good performance is by woody harrelson who plays the cop going after the crew and he gives a charismatic performance. Anthony Mackie gave some humanity to his character which made him the most likable of the crooks. Also aaron paul had an interesting role in the film that I kind of wished had been fleshed out a little more. The story is pretty by the numbers with not much new. There are some good relationships developed but overall pretty basic. Thev script was very dull and boring with not much going on either dramatically or humour wise. The style had some really good suspense to it that had me on the edge of my seat. But the film is a drag at times and goes on for a bit too long. Overall this is a really average movie that I wouldn't say is worth seeing.

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It's as though the director was trying to combine, Heat (1995) with Colors (1988) but ended up with a film as good as neither.
It begins well with lots of action. Then slows to establish characters, and then desperately tries to speed up again but fails. It just kinda meanders to a stop rather than to an end.
The star studded line-up almost seemed to hold it back. It was as though all the A-listers demanded at least 15 minutes of screen time each, and the end result was lots of scenes which should have ended up on the editing room floor, but didn't.
A story and a cast with tonnes of potential, poorly executed.

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This is my review of Triple 9 (spoiler free)
Directed by John Hillcoat
Distributor: Entertainment One.
Cast: Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Academy Award Nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor*, 2 time Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson**, Aaron Paul, Academy Award Winner Kate Winslet***, Norman Reedus.
Plot: A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan to kill an officer to pull off the biggest heist yet across the town.
Casey Affleck stars as Chris Allen the nephew of Sergeant Detective Jeffrey Allen (Harrelson) the cop behind the investigation of catching the criminals, and figuring out who the corrupt cops are. Terrell Tompkins (Ejiofor) is the leader of the corrupt cops lead by Irina Vlaslov (Winslet), Winslet's stand out performance really puts the film together kind of like in last year's Steve Jobs.
Although this dark and gritty cop thriller was almost never made by Australian director John Hillcoat (The Proposition, The Road), mainly because of production problems and loads of actors dropping out. For example Shia LeBeouf became Charlie Hunnam became Casey Affleck for Chris Allen, then Michael B. Jordan became Mackie as Marcus Atwood, Cate Blanchett replaced for Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz for Woody Harrelson.
It's courageous yet patchy in parts but still gets the story through, but not as good as Dennis Villeneuve's criminally underrated Sicario (2015) it still is a gripping and action packed adventure.
These are the reasons why I think this is a must see thriller:
Captivating set-pieces: There are several set-pieces used in the film one of them even takes the film to the next level. The main set-piece that will grab your attention is the Ram Raid around the middle of the film, that is truly an original set-piece that is very gripping.
Strong Cast: The cast really makes this film people like Chiwetel Ejiofor known 12 Years A Slave, and last years The Martian, Anthony Mackie plays The Falcon in so many Marvel films, Finally the real performance comes from Kate Winslet and her very convincing Russian accent. They make this film a must in my opinion.
Finally with the amazing action and intense set-pieces this film is like Point Break vs Sicario and is truly a once in a life time thriller that will have you gripping your seat from start finish. Although it is not for the faint-hearted.
Verdict: If you like Se7en and Animal Kingdom and very dark cop thrillers this is the film for you. 8/10 a must watch.
*Best performance by an Actor in a leading role 12 Years a Slave (2013), **Best performance by an Actor in a supporting role The Messenger (2009) & Best Actor in a Leading Role The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), ***Best Actress in a Leading Role The Reader (2008).

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I had to look up the writer. Turns out this is his first movie credit.I hope it is his last. Thrown together are a confused, convoluted mess of every thriller cliché and wild-ass idea without explanation for how and why they fit together. Russian Mafia using a Kosher food plant in Atlanta as a front. Orthodox Jewish men (really!) operating under the direction of non-orthodox Russian women who look like prostitutes (got to be an in-joke) and report to their Russian boss (who is in prison in Russia) via satellite phone. The Russians are working with Homeland Security and using a crew of corrupt cops (who are willing to kill one of their own for a payoff) as errand boys. Now: the plan, when the corrupt cops steal the MacGuffin and give it to the Russians, the Russians will give it to Homeland Security who've arranged to get the Russian crime boss released. Ultra violence ensues. Murky plot! Murky cinematography! Murky sound! Murky direction!
Lots of name actors in a hot mess!

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The red band trailer is amazing; When I first saw that trailer, I was game for an intense action thriller (Training Day on crack), however, what I got was...
Positives:
#1. A through Z (all across the board), all of the actors in this movie delivered convincing performances
#2. The opening robbery scene is intense and engaging throughout
#3. You know why some of the characters are doing the things that they're doing. Nothing is really explained in full context during the movie; How did some of these characters get involved with the mob? However, I did understand a majority of the characters motivations. When things happened, the characters reacted (no matter how irrational), and I understood where they were coming from.
#4. The main crew felt like a close family. We (as an audience) didn't get to spend a lot of time with most of the characters, but during certain scenes you could feel that they were all close to one other.
#5. Some deaths linger on. A character may die, you really don't get to know them, but the characters won't let you forget who died.
#6. Information is continuously pounded into your brain throughout. I had to remember names, events, and situations. All of the information may make some feel exhausted, but I found it exhilarating.
#7. There will be blood, death, and brutality. This movie definitely depicts realistic violence.
Negatives:
#1. I didn't care who lived or who died; The characters don't let you forget, but if I can't build any sort of relationship with the character, than why would I care.
#2. The movie does continuously pound information into your head (which I did like), but it ultimately goes nowhere. By the end of the movie... just throw the info out the window because it ultimately means nothing (WTF!)
#3. Unfortunately, this movie uses a 'MacGuffin' device to further its already absurd plot.
#4. The movie starts in a good place, it feeds us supposedly promising information, it goes down a promising path, and than at the end... what the hell! There's no pay off. There's no satisfaction to be had here. By the end of it all, you finally realize that none of that previous crab really matters... at least that's how I felt anyway.
#5. This is a by the numbers movie. I wouldn't say that it's totally predicable, but there isn't anything here that you haven't already seen.
I really was enjoying this movie from the start, through the middle ( a little), and than the ending happened. Some moments are intense, others are dumb, some make no logical sense, and than the ending is just a complete throwaway.
This movie is no Training Day on crack... WTF!... I really had high hopes for this movie. Maybe My exceptions where to high. By the way, everything is spoiled for you if you watch the trailers.
Finale Grade: D+

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First things to say: the cast is really, REALLY good. Just the names alone can get me into a movie theatre, but they also hinder the movie in ways I'll soon discuss. I've seen one reviewer here compare the movie to Se7en, whereas I think its closer to movies like Before The Devil Knows You're Dead and Crash: both ensemble films that feature no concrete lead, and are bleak and very relentless in their bleakness. The plot of this movie is that a group of criminals consisting of corrupt security personal and cops are blackmailed by a Russian mob leader's wife into committing a crime to get him released from prison. In order to pull off said crime, the criminals decide to commit a 999 - the titular Triple 9 - and kill a police officer on the other side of town while they commit the robbery. The story then follows the officer in question, Chris Allen, the criminals led by Michael Belmont, and the detectives investigating the plot as led by Jeff Allen - Chris' uncle.
Good points - the cast is great, and the cinematography and action are both perfect for what this movie needs. The film looks the right balance between well put together and dirty in its set-up and feel - you feel in the action, but the action is captivating that you feel like a joyful observer. The action scenes are very well handled, and director John Hillcoat is great with all of choices of camera angles; we see all the important parts of the action scene, so the audience can enjoy the tension and pace of them.
But NOW to the big problems with this movie. Firstly, it is not a movie with a good narrative flow, especially after Kate Winslet's character becomes an active catalyst in the plot; one plot decision that makes little sense is that Irina (Winslet) decides to get Belmont (Chwetel Ejoifor) to partake in a tough job that requires a big crew by murdering a crew member of his. When it's further revealed that she is the aunt of Belmont's son and has him already, that makes this senseless act even more illogical, as surely THAT is leverage enough? Other narrative decisions, like the Mexican cartels that show up and then disappear without a valid reason - except for the Triple 9 that honestly could be done by anyone, hell, even one of the corrupt cops could've done it themselves - or the wasting of very potential set pieces, like the elevator at the end of the film, that could've been good. And an ending scene that feels abrupt, cut off, and like it was not meant to end there, but just did.
Speaking of the cast, specifically Winslet, I have to comment on her performance first. She plays the leader of the Russian mob, and whilst she is certainly a talented actress, she is NOT the physical fit for this role, as she feels immensely unintimidating for a reason I can't quite place, but just feel. It's certainly the weakest performance in the main cast, with Woody Harrelson as the best, playing the most likable, awesome character in the film who I just love - good old Jeff, who solves problems, protects those he cares about, and has a cynical, cool humour about him. The criminals are well acted, but the problem is that none of them are particularly different to each other; all of them, essentially, are terrible people with a personal issue that they are deal with, but are just terrible people at the end of the day. They are the kind of both who are hard to distinguish; you have two brothers, played by Aaron Paul and Norman Reedus, two black men with similar sounding names and appearance, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mike and Anthony Mackay as Mark, and Clifton Collins Jr. who is the most different visually, but also not really different enough as he's just bad like the rest of them. They are the kind of characters that if played by B-name actors I wouldn't remember, which is not a good thing.
This is not a bad movie - I just really, REALLY wanted it to be better. I certainly didn't hate it, I just didn't like it like I wanted.

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If you are planning to watch this flick be advised to watch it without being interrupted then you will enjoy this dark thriller. It all starts rather easy with a heist at a bank but once they have to do another job things go wrong.
From there on it's corruption galore. With the excellent cast it do delivers a superb bloody flick. And yes, some main actors do die quickly in this flick and even as Aaron Paul (Gabe) is doing what he's best in, a drug-fiend it is well done.
Top cast in a top flick. If you are into thrillers or dark action, pick it up at your local theater.
Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

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There is something seriously amiss about the bad reviews of this film! Okay, maybe I'm just 'completely crazy'. It's entirely possible. While it's not like it's the greatest film crime drama/ heist film to ever hit American cinema, for this film to receive the reviews it's getting is down right disgusting to me! (More so then any violence ever depicted in this movie).
In fact, there is a scene in the movie where one of the characters says something to the effect...'You are targeted!'. Well that's exactly how I feel critics and film snobs are reviewing this movie. First of all, I'm a movie lover (first) of ALL genres, AND I've actually written an indie $25 million dollar movie that appeared on thousands of screens, not to gloat but just to give you some perspective. And my movie was ripped by critics and film snobs alike too.(And that ripping was deserved!),just to show you some humility, but these reviews are not just when it comes to this film.
But think about it for a second...what IS exactly a 'professional critic' OR 'film snob' critic? For starters, neither have ever written/directed/starred/ or produced a film that was any good OR cost millions of dollars of someone's money. EVER! So f' them all to begin with. A bunch of hack nobodies that can't actually create anything themselves, with the exception of garnering some popularity for being 'said critic'. Like seriously...losers if you ask me. If they're so good at evaluating movies. Why don't they go out and smash grab a couple of ten million dollars or so and actually PRODUCE something besides a review of another's work?!
But I was a FILM LOVER, waaaaaay before I got into the biz...and this crime film was very very good! The first thing that caught my eye, was that the acting performances were stellar. I've never seen Casey Affleck so good, and I've never EVER seen Kate Winslet so diabolical OR as 'sexy' before this film. (I didn't know she had in it her for both so kudos to her!
And as long as we are talking 'cinema snobs', I actually read a 'critic review' that discussed how bad Winslet's 'Russian Accent' was in this film. Really? We are now going to rip an 'Academy Award' winning actress for her accent in a 'crime drama' movie that was meant for just pure entertainment of the genre and is not supposed to be fing Citizen Goddamn Kane or Gone with the fing Wind? Well, yes we will apparently so exactly that. As if we can ALL do it better.
I LOVED Woody Haralson's character in this film. Yeah, we've seen bits and pieces of this type of character from him in the past, but he's great in this! Okay, yes, Norman Reedus is a little bit 'Daryl', and yes, Aaron Paul is a little bit 'Jessie Pinkton' (Do we NOT still all love those characters???), they are still very very good in this movie too! And I have to admit, Even though I've seen them, I'm not as familiar with Chiwetel Ejiofor or Anthony Mackie, BUT I AM NOW....and will be following for sure in the future..both will be house hold names in a few years.
And Clifton Collins Jr.....I almost didn't recognize him...but a great actor that's been around for YEARS...and will also probably finally be a household name within a few as well. I hated him in this movie...'as a character'...and that's exactly how we were supposed to feel! And what about the giant set of balls (no pun intended when you see the film)of actor 'Michael Kenneth Williams' for his role of 'Sweet Pea'! Come on, now! Okay, now let's talk about 'crime/drama/heist movie/ plot. The plot is a bit different than most heist films too. It trends on the darker side, like a Reservoir Dogs type film, but it's NOT trying to be Reservoir Dogs either. It's more of a 'Departed, meets 'Reservoir Dogs', meets 'Training Day' type movie...without all the self importance! Now as for the Director/Writer team of John Hillcoat & Matt Cook, I'm honestly not that familiar with either, although I really did like Hillcoats 'The Road', but I'm looking out for their future stuff now too because of this film. Great directing and writing.
Oh, and btw, what big studio film put this out??? NONE. Is your answer. It's purely an bigger budgeted 'indie film' produced by (count them) 21 PRODUCERS! That either put their heart, blood, sweat, money..or....made a phone call or lend-ed their name for half a sec. (it's Hollywood, people, that's how indies get done sometimes)to get this sucker made.
And yet it's ripped by 'Hollywood Critics' and 'Film snobs' alike.
My point is, if you like a really good, non academy award winning, non film snob, non big budget, non big studio, non Hollywood machine, non anything that is popular (beside the cast) type crime film....
SEE THIS MOVIE...it's worth your $15 at the box office, it's worth your $10 to own, it's worth you're $6.95 to rent/stream in HD, it's worth your $1 at Redbox. It's just worth seeing period.

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Triple 9 is a movie that has mostly been forgotten. It did poor at the box office, got mixed reviews and didn't do enough to get major attention, but this is one the critics were a bit too harsh on. Triple 9 is by no means a masterpiece, but it is none the less thrilling, suspenseful and mostly well done.
The film is set in Atlanta where a group of criminals attempts to pull of a huge heist and part of that heist is getting the police to all be drawn to a code 999, officer down. The plot itself is rather interesting and is a main reason for keeping viewer attention and interest to the story. The cast is great all around. Woody Harrelson might come off as a bit over the top, but he was none the less entertaining. The cast does a great job even with the script being just, fine. It isn't an awful script, but there issues with pacing that stand out, but they aren't enough to truly affect the scenes that transpire throughout. The direction is pretty great for the whole film. All action scenes are very well done with a ton of suspense and the violence is very much a strong addition. The violence may be too much for some, but I thought it was done very well. The editing during these action scenes was pretty excellent, the opening heist was my favorite part of the movie and that was helped by the solid editing and crisp direction. The editing during dialogue scenes was not as good, but also not enough to take me out of the movie. Although some scenes might not be as necessary as other's nothing felt severely out of a place. If the actions scenes weren't as excellent as they are these issues might stand out more.
Overall, Triple 9 is no Ocean's Eleven or Reservoir Dogs, but is a great film, with several great moments of tense action, strong performances and solid direction. There are issues with the script and editing during dialogue scenes wasn't the best, but in the end I would be lying if I said I didn't think Triple 9 was a great movie that I think got less praise than it deserved. Again this is not a perfect film, but it's definitely better than the okay movie the critics made it to be.

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A band of robbers needs a distraction to pull off their next heist. They plan to kill a cop (Atlanta PD code 999 is the officer down radio sign, hence the title) to create a large enough time-frame to get things done.
This film has a some pros; the cast is good, the Atlanta back-drop is nice and the overall technical look and feel is decent. However the cons take a heavy toll on this flick; character development is not available, plot quality and logic are far below average. This makes an incoherent mess, in the end it just is not good enough to recommend to anyone.

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Normally with these kind of disappointing big budget movies I ignore, but this one really annoyed me as the storyline was just so bad, it was awful, how did anyone agree to back it with dozens of millions?
Nothing happens in this, and when they try and make something happen, it doesn't, read the synopsis of the movie, and that's what happens, nothing more, so no need to watch.
the best thing about this film, not in a good way, is that Kate winslet is the head of the Russian mafia. And Woody Harrelson??? what are you doing?
To be fair there is enough action to keep you going so it's not a total waste of time

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Movies like this have it much worse than movie like Pirates of the Caribbean and all the Marvel movies due to their gritty and rough nature. This movie is a hidden gem that is scratched but beautiful, hugely full of talent but will never be big due to it not being for everyone. Its unfortunate but this movie really really is good, please give it a watch. Its a real like kind of cop film instead of good guy cop who makes no mistakes and is always doing whats right, its a film where there are grey lines instead of things only being just black and white. There is right and wrong and whats legal, its not mindless entertainment like Fast and Furious(don't get me wrong those films are fun) this movie strikes at your heart in every way you would want to act if bad things happened to you.

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Triple 9, set in the gun-ridden streets of Atlanta, is surprisingly well executed and at times impressive to look at. But it does leave a rather unpleasant after-taste: like last year's Liam Neeson vehicle 'Run All Night', virtually no one in the film has a redeeming feature which makes it difficult to empathise or root for anyone.
The excellent Chiwetel Ejiofor ('Twelve Years a Slave') plays Michael Atwood, the leader of a gang doing a bank job for the Russian mafia led by Irina Vlaslov (Kate WInslet). The gang stay one step ahead of the local cops by plotting patrol car movements on a GIS map: that's pretty easy for them since they are all crooked cops and ex-military. Atwood's character is intimately linked to Vlaslov's, as he has a son with her sister Elena (Gal Gadot). But the mafia is not easy to please and Atwood is strong-armed into doing a second, more challenging job that requires a significant police diversion. This diversion is the root of the '999' of the title: the call sign for 'officer down'.
Investigating the robbery and the subsequent chain of events is flawed cop Jeffrey Allen (Woody Harrelson), who is also trying to help his nephew Chris (Casey Affleck) aclimitise to the city's gang culture following a transfer from a much cushier neighbourhood. The strands of the story intertwine to violent and bloody ends as Atwood fights to protect his family and escape the ever-tightening grip of the mafia and the closing net of Harrelson's dogged detective.
All the performances here a generally excellent. Ejiofor is an actor who perfects the look of being totally hacked off, and here he has plenty of opportunities to exercise that. His closest colleague Belmont (Anthony Mackie, Falcon from the 'Avengers' films) is also extremely watchable. Elsewhere, the shapely Miss Gadot is a little too one-dimensionally drawn for my taste, but the other members of the gang and Harrelson and Affleck as the two 'good guy' cops are nicely portrayed. The most surprising turn though is that of Winslet who revels in her evil Russian bitch persona, a role diverging from her usual norm and which is great to watch.
The story and screenplay by newcomer Matt Cook is sufficiently dense to require attention in following it – it reminded me in places of 'LA Confidential' – and like that film contains enough twists and turns to keep up the interest. Character development though is limited, so when the twists do happen its an 'oh' rather than an 'OH!'. The screenplay is let down by a bit of a damp squib of an ending and one that doesn't bear close scrutiny – if you've seen the film, the hero is SURELY in more imminent peril in the two minutes preceding the denouement?? But the journey to get to the ending is satisfying enough.
Cinematography (Nicolas Karakatsanis, 'The Drop') and film editing (Dylan Tichenor, 'There Will be Blood') are also worthy of note, particularly with the impressive opening titles which straight away tell you this is not just A.N.other cop 'B' movie.The robbery scenes and one involving a police raid on an apartment building are both well edited and exciting.
So, in summary, a good solid job by director John Hillcoat ('The Road') that is worthy of your rental dollar. Just make sure you have some TV/movie 'sorbet' to cleanse the palate after watching.
(Please visit bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of this review. Thanks.)

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After seeing the cast of characters in this movie (mainly Wood H & Case A.) I realized this movie had to be good! Wrong! Nothing original about the story line---crocket cops doing criminal activity behind the badge. Typical, expected, and predictable murders. Too many scenes didn't sync seamlessly with the movie. Seemed more like plug and play but nothing matched. Story line wasn't the easiest to follow based on to much jumping around. My 1st time seeing a movie with a woman acting like a Mob Boss. Very horrible acting on her part though the movie added all the classic mob boss stereo types and she failed horribly. As action unfolded predictably you knew what was next. I regret watching this movie. I saw a previous movie with Case & Woody where the on screen chemistry was awesome. Seemingly they attempted again but failed miserably. Lastly, a few racist stereo types that didn't fit into the movie but were forced in taking away from the movie. I started the movie over 20 minutes in because it seemed good and I wanted to make sure I got every detail. As stated early not an easy movie to follow and me starting it over validated that point.

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It didn't take much convincing to get me into the cinema for this one. I've been looking forward to it for a while, not for it's content and concept, but purely for the names attached. John Hillcoat has yet to make a bad movie, and I figured him finally tackling present day could yield some interesting results. Pairing him with his biggest and most impressive cast yet could only bring further promise.
Unsurprisingly, Triple 9 is driven by it's characters, with a handful of impressive, gritty action setpieces to keep the audience's attention. We follow characters on both sides of the law, including the murky grey in the middle, but no-one is particularly likable. We have Mike, head of the criminal crew plotting an officer down code as a distraction. He's in with the (Jewish?) mob more than he'd like by way of having had a son with the boss' sister, Elena, giving Irina, the boss, more leverage over him than he'd like. His crew is made up of army buddy Russel, his deadbeat brother Gabe, Gabe's Gang Unit cop friend Marcus, and another dirty, somewhat psychotic cop Franco. Marcus has just been assigned a newbie as a partner; Chris, who just so happens to be the nephew of Jeff; the head of the Homicide division. Of course with such ties, it's the newbie who ends up as the target of the triple nine.
Each one gets varying degrees of character development, but due to their being so many characters, it's unsurprising that there might not be as much as you might hope. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Mike as a sharp leader who's just unhappy with his situation and what he's made to do for the sake of his own son. Kate Winslet hams it up a little bit as Irina, but never quite reaches the amount of intimidation required for the role, and you wonder why Mike doesn't just shoot her in the face and be done with it. Casey Affleck is a little dull as Chris, who's probably the most likable character by accident, having no discernible character beyond being the guy thrown into a world he doesn't entirely understand. Anthony Mackie, however, manages to bring a bit more depth to Marcus than any other character/actor. As the guy tasked with initiating the triple nine, he suffers a strike of conscience at inconvenient times, but is still ultimately a corrupt cop. Aaron Paul does what he does best with Gabe, which is walk around lost with tears welling up the whole time, although in Triple 9, at least his character has good reason. Clifton Collins Jr. plays the semi-psychotic Franco with as much cold heart as is necessary without making the audience wonder how he got passed the police tests in the first place. Woody Harrelson's Jeff is the well- meaning drunkard, who is as close to a show-stealer as Triple 9 gets. Norman Reedus, Gal Gadot, and Michael K. Williams all make small and underdeveloped appearances throughout, as Russel (the only guy on the crew who seems to have his head screwed on), Elena (who exudes bad mother), and Sweet Pea (transvestite pimp who has her ear to the ground) respectively.
In truth, the impressive cast was necessary just to be able to keep track of who was who at times. There isn't enough time to get particularly attached to any of them as the plotting keeps the movie moving quite thoroughly, although I must note there were some questionable holes (such as, you have the guys son, why not use him rather than offing one of his crew members and making it infinitely harder for him to get the job you want done). Dotted about are some smatterings of action, and to be honest, this is where the film's strength lies. The movie opens with the bank job that doesn't quite go to plan as Gabe gets a bit greedy, resulting in them all covered in red dust. Of course there's the second half of the job which makes up the movie's climax in the third act as well, but in the middle we switch perspectives a bit and follow a police raid in the heart of Mexican gang territory, and absolutely marks the movie's high point.
Story wise, holes aside, there's quite a lot going on and quite a lot to keep track of. Everyone seems to be interrelated somehow, and it can take a bit of work on the audience's part to connect all the dots together. Most of the plot is focused around the characters themselves, as I've mentioned, but it cleverly uses this to guide the outcome of the movie. It feels like the writer came up with the idea, came up with the characters, and then threw them together and followed them individually along the timeline to figure out how they'd end up at the end, and what their role would be. This results in some fairly unpredictable twists and turns that make complete sense from the perspective of the characters.
In all Triple 9 is a solidly enjoyable movie. It's not the masterpiece I'd hoped for, marking itself probably as Hillcoat's worst movie, but that's not really saying a lot as all his work is top-tier. Every actor does their job to the best of their ability, hamstrung only by the amount of time and space they get given to work on their characters. Triple 9 is less than two hours in length, but there's a lot to fit in, which makes it feel like quite a long movie. Thankfully it never rushes through, and makes enough time to linger on moments a little longer than you might expect. I give Triple 9 an enjoyable 7/10.

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'We pray at the same alter.' In this town cops and criminals are the same people. When a gang is caught and blackmailed by the Russian mob they only have one option other then death. They are to break into a special forces safe house and steal classified government files. Without any real choice the crew realizes that the only way to pull this off is to set up a 999 call. When criminals, good cops, and bad cops all become involved something is bound to go wrong. I was actually looking forward to watching this. The cast is incredible, the idea sounded very interesting and I was hoping for a movie along the lines of Smoking Aces, but a little more serious. I wondered why it came and went in the theaters so fast but I was still excited. I watch and review every movie I order for the store and because of that 99% of the time I review my first impression of the movie. I did something I never do with this one. I watched it twice because I figured it couldn't have been as bad as my first impression was. After the second viewing I came to the conclusion that this was one of the most disappointing movies I have seen. I'm not sure how a movie with an idea this interesting and a cast this great can drop the ball so badly but they did. They movie was flat and uninteresting, hard to follow at times and just overall nothing I was hoping for. Overall, even having watched it twice before writing this I have a hard time finding something good to say about the movie. Very disappointing. I give this a C.

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