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Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Triple 9 (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
A crew of bank robbers is strong-armed by the Russian mob to pull off a near impossible heist due the response time of the police. In order to create a larger window, the dirty cops of this crew suggest creating a 999 (police code for “officer down.”) on the other side of town. That is the basic plot of Triple 9. Yet, the tagline for this film is, “The Code on the street is never black and white.” Seems like a different movie which is part of the letdown of Triple 9. It doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it a heist movie like Heat or The Town? Or is it trying to be a movie about the cops and the rules of the streets like Training Day?
In the beginning, the film sets its self-up to be a smart and stylistic heist film. However shortly after it begins to feel disjointed as it attempts to develop everyone in its ensemble cast to the point where it hurts the story and some excellent performances become forgettable. It’s a shame because somewhere in this film is potentially two excellent separate films. One film about a crew having to complete a heist for the mob to save their lives and loved ones, and another about dirty cops, their partners and the moral ambiguity of the code on the streets. In Triple 9, these two premises never really get developed on one side or the other and thus everything is just left there.
On the heist side, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays ex-mercenary Michael Atwood. Michael is the careful and calculating leader of the crew, but is tied to the Russian mafia through the mother of his son. Michael is constantly being coerced by the Russian Mob Boss, played by Kate Winslet. The two give stellar performances, most notably Winslet who is cold and ruthless in wielding her power, speaking her mind and not caring how the job gets done as long as it gets done.
On the cop side, Anthony Mackie plays dirty police detective Marcus Belmont who becomes partnered with the ex-marine turned rookie detective Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). Belmont feels that the rookie doesn’t respect the streets and his “Do-gooder” “make a difference” attitude is going to get him killed. When Belmont’s heist crewmate Jorge Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.) learns Chris is also the nephew of the Sergeant Detective (Woody Harrelson) investigating the heist crew, Chris becomes the clear candidate to be set up for the Triple 9. (Convenient huh)
Ultimately, as the story plays out it feels we are always arriving at the end of the meeting to plan the coming events. From the planning of the heist, to the set up murder, and to the exit plan, we are just carried through the motions without much motivation of how or why things have to play out the way they do. As a result, I didn’t really care for any of the characters good or bad, unlike other films of this nature. Even Ejiofor’s character Michael, who has his child involved, doesn’t get the opportunity to really show why the rest of the crew respects him and follows him, or why he needs to stay alive for his son, who basically seems better off being taken care of by the Russian mob.
In the end Triple 9 is not a bad movie, it just isn’t really a great one either. It has strong performances by the entire cast and has the makings of something great, but fails to deliver on that opportunity with a disjointed story trying to focus on too many characters. This makes it ultimately forgettable compared to other heist films of similar nature.
In the beginning, the film sets its self-up to be a smart and stylistic heist film. However shortly after it begins to feel disjointed as it attempts to develop everyone in its ensemble cast to the point where it hurts the story and some excellent performances become forgettable. It’s a shame because somewhere in this film is potentially two excellent separate films. One film about a crew having to complete a heist for the mob to save their lives and loved ones, and another about dirty cops, their partners and the moral ambiguity of the code on the streets. In Triple 9, these two premises never really get developed on one side or the other and thus everything is just left there.
On the heist side, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays ex-mercenary Michael Atwood. Michael is the careful and calculating leader of the crew, but is tied to the Russian mafia through the mother of his son. Michael is constantly being coerced by the Russian Mob Boss, played by Kate Winslet. The two give stellar performances, most notably Winslet who is cold and ruthless in wielding her power, speaking her mind and not caring how the job gets done as long as it gets done.
On the cop side, Anthony Mackie plays dirty police detective Marcus Belmont who becomes partnered with the ex-marine turned rookie detective Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). Belmont feels that the rookie doesn’t respect the streets and his “Do-gooder” “make a difference” attitude is going to get him killed. When Belmont’s heist crewmate Jorge Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.) learns Chris is also the nephew of the Sergeant Detective (Woody Harrelson) investigating the heist crew, Chris becomes the clear candidate to be set up for the Triple 9. (Convenient huh)
Ultimately, as the story plays out it feels we are always arriving at the end of the meeting to plan the coming events. From the planning of the heist, to the set up murder, and to the exit plan, we are just carried through the motions without much motivation of how or why things have to play out the way they do. As a result, I didn’t really care for any of the characters good or bad, unlike other films of this nature. Even Ejiofor’s character Michael, who has his child involved, doesn’t get the opportunity to really show why the rest of the crew respects him and follows him, or why he needs to stay alive for his son, who basically seems better off being taken care of by the Russian mob.
In the end Triple 9 is not a bad movie, it just isn’t really a great one either. It has strong performances by the entire cast and has the makings of something great, but fails to deliver on that opportunity with a disjointed story trying to focus on too many characters. This makes it ultimately forgettable compared to other heist films of similar nature.
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RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Fast & Furious (2009) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019
Back on track
The best way to describe Fast & Furious would be as a guilty pleasure. There's nothing to lend weight to this film as a great work, an Oscar contender or a movie worthy of critical acclaim, but there something about this, as there was with the first, The Fast And The Furious, back in 2001.
Rob Cohen has never been known for subtlety and his 2001 film was far from it, but even even though he had nothing to do with this, his stamp is well and truly on it. Fast & Furious is the fourth in this surprising successful franchise, and besides the fact that I liked the original in spite of the fact that I'm NOT a motor-head, I've avoided the intervening sequels, 2 fast, 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift, for one simple reason, besides the fact that just didn't fancy them.
No Vin Diesel. I'm not suggesting that Vin is the greatest actor in the Hollywood, nor should be treading the boards of the Royal Shakespeare Company anytime soon, but his blockhead with a heart of gold persona works for me. He's likable and suits this role down to a tee, as does his dimwitted surfer dude sidekick, Paul Walker.
Walker offers nothing significant to the film except for his relationship with Diesel. The pairing is enjoyable but little more, but isn't that the point of adrenalin films like this? This is about cars, women, cops and robbers, and great fun to boot. The tone of this movie is on par with Cohen's original and though I can't justifiably compare this to the sequels which I have never seen, I don't want too either. This is the sequel that 2 Fast should have been and I only hope that now they're back on track, that Fast & Furious 5 could be another romp worthy of a watch.
It's nice to see a franchise go off track and find its feet again after so many years and it is a testament to the original cast who, though only have a limited range, have clearly breathed life back into the franchise.
Rob Cohen has never been known for subtlety and his 2001 film was far from it, but even even though he had nothing to do with this, his stamp is well and truly on it. Fast & Furious is the fourth in this surprising successful franchise, and besides the fact that I liked the original in spite of the fact that I'm NOT a motor-head, I've avoided the intervening sequels, 2 fast, 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift, for one simple reason, besides the fact that just didn't fancy them.
No Vin Diesel. I'm not suggesting that Vin is the greatest actor in the Hollywood, nor should be treading the boards of the Royal Shakespeare Company anytime soon, but his blockhead with a heart of gold persona works for me. He's likable and suits this role down to a tee, as does his dimwitted surfer dude sidekick, Paul Walker.
Walker offers nothing significant to the film except for his relationship with Diesel. The pairing is enjoyable but little more, but isn't that the point of adrenalin films like this? This is about cars, women, cops and robbers, and great fun to boot. The tone of this movie is on par with Cohen's original and though I can't justifiably compare this to the sequels which I have never seen, I don't want too either. This is the sequel that 2 Fast should have been and I only hope that now they're back on track, that Fast & Furious 5 could be another romp worthy of a watch.
It's nice to see a franchise go off track and find its feet again after so many years and it is a testament to the original cast who, though only have a limited range, have clearly breathed life back into the franchise.
JT (287 KP) rated Takers (2010) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
The bank heist, it’s been done to death in Hollywood over the years but it still seems to be a film favourite. You’d be hard pressed to find a really bad one out there and most of the ones that I have seen have been exceptional films.
Of course they all follow a very similar pattern. Group steals money, plan one last job which will inevitable go wrong where someone will get double crossed and not everyone walks off into the sunset with the money.Its a no brainer really and only an idiot could really mess up that style of plot.
Takers is no different from any other before it, the cast here seem to be a bit mismatched in places. There are real life rappers Chris Brown and T.I. aka Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., eye candy favourites Matt Dillon and Paul Walker with Brit Idris Elba making it the most unconventional mix of cops and robbers ever.
The film’s highlights are the well choreographed set pieces including a decent hotel gun fight, a hiest that goes wrong leading to more gun play, and an impressive chase through the city. Even the opening does well to set the story and character back grounds.
Where the film let’s itself down, through no fault of its own, is the way in which we are always one step ahead of the plot. This is just down to all the hiest films we have seen before and we’re pretty much going to make our own assumptions as to what is going to happen and who is going to get away with what at the climax.
There are a couple of wasted back stories which do little to the film such as Matt Dillon’s corrupt partner or Idris Elba’s crackhead sister. Zoe Saldana is a virtual unknown in this and pops up from time to time doing nothing but enlighten the screen with her clear beauty.
It’s never going to compete against the big boys such as Heat, Point Break or The Town, but it does well enough to hold the attention for 90 minutes or so.
Of course they all follow a very similar pattern. Group steals money, plan one last job which will inevitable go wrong where someone will get double crossed and not everyone walks off into the sunset with the money.Its a no brainer really and only an idiot could really mess up that style of plot.
Takers is no different from any other before it, the cast here seem to be a bit mismatched in places. There are real life rappers Chris Brown and T.I. aka Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., eye candy favourites Matt Dillon and Paul Walker with Brit Idris Elba making it the most unconventional mix of cops and robbers ever.
The film’s highlights are the well choreographed set pieces including a decent hotel gun fight, a hiest that goes wrong leading to more gun play, and an impressive chase through the city. Even the opening does well to set the story and character back grounds.
Where the film let’s itself down, through no fault of its own, is the way in which we are always one step ahead of the plot. This is just down to all the hiest films we have seen before and we’re pretty much going to make our own assumptions as to what is going to happen and who is going to get away with what at the climax.
There are a couple of wasted back stories which do little to the film such as Matt Dillon’s corrupt partner or Idris Elba’s crackhead sister. Zoe Saldana is a virtual unknown in this and pops up from time to time doing nothing but enlighten the screen with her clear beauty.
It’s never going to compete against the big boys such as Heat, Point Break or The Town, but it does well enough to hold the attention for 90 minutes or so.
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