Ok, you got me; I haven’t seen this one before – guys robbing a bank. Masks, military signals, the works. The robbers grab an older man in a suit and tie (presumably someone of importance) and without saying a single word, pull out pictures of his house and family. No words are needed; the threat is implied. These pros then lead the man to the safety deposit boxes and show him a number written on a wrist. Again, no words used and the message is clear. Now if only robbing banks weren’t so damn passé.
Two of the robbers, Marcus (Anthony Mackie) and Franco (Clifton Collins Jr.) are cops. Ah, the plot thickens. The leader of this team, however, is ex-military Michael (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is doing jobs because he’s in deep with the insidious Russian Jewish mafia. I don’t know how one gets in deep with the Russian Jewish mafia, but Triple 9 suggests … don’t. Michael’s sister-in-law is mob boss Irina (Kate Winslet); she calls all the shots. This marks a first, btw, I can’t recall a bad Kate Winslet performace, so I was fascinated by the phenomenon. I went from, “hmmm, I don’t get it. Is she over-the-top on purpose? Does she think she needs to be deliberately tough here?” And slowly over the course of Triple 9, I arrived at: “wait. Wait. I DO get it. This is a bad performance. This is simply a character/plot misread. Novel, Miss Winslet. Quite a gambit. Well done.”
Irina sees the bank job and is unimpressed; the information, while obtained in tact, is incomplete. Another job is needed to make the information whole. She refuses payment until another job is done. (That’s quite the WTF? moment – even in the mob, you can’t dictate terms like that, can you?) The information leads to the release of the REAL mob boss from some sort of Russian Gulag. What information hidden in an Atlanta bank could possibly get somebody released from a Russian Gulag? No, seriously, I really want to know. This is a classic “just roll with it situation.” So, here’s the thing – the next job is tougher, and will require a greater time commitment, one that can only be supplied by the police being occupied with a cop down situation – a code 999. See how that works? At this point, the actual focal point and dirty cop target enters – a perceived noob Chris (Casey Affleck).
So you got this, right? Atlanta. Dirty cops need time to do a job. Buy time by killing one of their own is the plan. –and they say cops never turn on each other– 
Oh, and Woody Harrelson is there because James Woods and Nick Nolte are now too old for these roles. Casey Affleck is not quite the talent brother Ben is, but he’s always been better at taking roles that won’t piss people off. This is another good example. His work as the new-guy-with-veteran-skills-his-partner-doesn’t-respect-so-has-set-himself-up-as-fall-guy is too difficult plot-wise to ferret out whether or not he succeeds in selling the Atlanta rookie detective routine.
Triple 9 is one of those movies you don’t really question until much later. Well, I didn’t. You might. I give this movie a solid B, but wonder at the end of the day what is so worth theft that you’d be willing to sacrifice a cop in the process? You’re professionals in the round – murder is much bigger than thievery; Michael is in too deep, yes, but there isn’t solid evidence that the accomplices need to go to such lengths. That’s quite the camaraderie, no? Only your neck is on the line, but sure, we’ll kill for you. That doesn’t quite mesh with the inner group turmoil. Perhaps I overrated this thing.
Four fellas who professionally rob
Must ice a detective for a job
Problems outstanding
None so demanding
As the Atlanta Russian Jewish Pro Tem-led mob
Rated R, 115 Minutes
D: John Hillcoat
W: Matt Cook
Genre: ♪Bad cops bad cops whatchagonnado? ♫
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Crime junkies
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Russian Jews who are not mobsters
