Triple 9

Now I can say that John Hillcoat has a knack for crime films because Triple 9 succeeded in almost every aspect. I still have Lawless categorized as his best film, but Triple 9 comes pretty close. For 16 million dollars, it’s a solid detective story that boasts a very good atmosphere with gritty moments, a stellar cast, and also some interesting twists. The atmosphere is truly captivating, at times I’d even say grand. You’ll hardly find an actor you don’t recognize by name. Ejiofor slightly changed his image, but his character was great. The biggest surprise for me was probably Clifton Collins Jr., as he portrayed the role of the treacherous and deceitful "detective" excellently. I’d also praise the musical score, which added even more intensity to the film. And I almost forgot about Winslet. Would you ever cast her as a ruthless Russian mobster? I certainly wouldn’t, but she surprisingly proved me wrong. The script is above average, though it does contain a few holes. The film's quality is mostly balanced throughout its runtime, but it’s missing that touch of perfection to convince me of a full five stars. After Sleepless, this is a detective film I can still recommend. Rating: 79% (25/04/2017)

If I leave aside the fact that this film offers rather solid action scenes, I wouldn’t know what else I should talk about in this case. Triple 9 had a great cast of actors and it didn’t manage to work with them well enough for me to get used to any single one of them at least for a while. Instead, the movie focuses on a band of nasty Hispanic guys who make life miserable both for the group of familiar actors and for ourselves. And that’s a world I don’t need to see. (18/03/2017)

Olivier Marchal, David Ayer, Shawn Ryan, James Ellroy and, last but not least, Don Winslow are the big names of dirty harsh criminal movies about corrupt police officers in the movies/series/literature. And with this feature-length debut, Matt Cook enters the same room with them. He lags behind but only a little bit. Yes, it has such potential. It's a pity that it´s conflicting with Hillcoat's concept, because chose the wrong pace of narration. Considering how much is happening and on how many levels, it gives you feeling that it´s way too lengthy. I´m not saying boring, not at all. But this movie was supposed to be an adrenaline-fueled ride driven by inner tension and not a slow-paced something that looks like nothing is really going on. But even that being said, it´s exceptional in terms of genre. And even more considering that similar movies were almost exclusively made as series. (01/06/2016)

A great crime movie that would benefit from being a couple of minutes longer to make it easier to orient oneself in the story. These days it’s almost a miracle to see something so bloody with such a well thought-out storyline and such an excellent cast. Hillcoat puts on a great performance. Ejiofor is pleasant at last, and Winslet is just perfect. Triple 9 is both the purpose and the result in a thoughtful probe into the world of today’s police. This little piggy... (30/05/2016)

It's strange to say the least that despite a first class cast, Hillcoat has failed to create anything more than a slightly above average genre spectacle. In truth, Triple 9 suffers from a kind of "overcasting" where the individual stars of the cast act more like staffage without adequate impact on the plot itself. It's as if John Hillcoat, after the successful Lawless, thought he'd now do a police heist with star actors for a change, except that John Hillcoat simply isn't Michael Mann, David Ayer, or Ben Affleck. The result is a kind of weird mishmash of police drama, gangster movie, and heist film that has its moments, but these are truly scarce. It's an example of wasted potential with an extremely poor Kate Winslet who has nothing to play and the scenes with her really hurt. [60%] (24/11/2020)