DVD Review: Triple 9

Full review on Starburst.

A gang are tasked by a Russian mafia boss to steal data from a high security facility, but there’s no way they can lift it before the cops show up. Their idea is to initiate a ‘Triple 9’ scenario – if a police officer is shot elsewhere in town, all the cops will converge there, giving the gang their opportunity. Luckily, two of the robbers are corrupt officers themselves, and one has an overzealous new partner who could be the perfect target.

The key to a good genre film is to provide the familiar thrills of the genre in question while finding an original hook that sets the film apart. As a crime flick, John Hillcoat’s Triple 9 ticks these boxes – you’re never far from a car chase or a heist (the opening chase sequence is particularly suspenseful), and the ‘cops within the gang’ angle provides a fresh take on a well-worn dynamic. It also has one hell of a cast list.

But Triple 9 fails to live up to all its promise. The story becomes more convoluted than it really should and the big heist sequence is a let-down, as certain plot points contrive to get everyone into place. And then, rather than satisfyingly tying up all its character stories, the film’s final act descends into repetitive, nihilistic nastiness. 

Triple 9, then, is reminiscent of Hillcoat’s Lawless – a promising crime movie that ends up disappointingly mediocre.