Triple 9

Year of Release:  2016
Director:  John Hillcoat
Screenplay:  Matt Cook
Starring:  Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet
Running Time:  115 minutes

This movie is a gritty, urban, cop thriller set in Atlanta, Georgia.  The story concerns a group of corrupt cops who are blackmailed by a powerful Russian-Israeli mob boss (Winslet)  into attempting a dangerous heist.  The gang decide that the only way to pull off the heist is to kill a fellow police officer, thereby distracting the attention of the cops ("triple 9" refers to the police code for "officer down").

The film is well performed by a very good cast, and there are some really good moments.  The opening robbery scene is fantastic, but the middle of the film sags, although it does pick up as it goes along.  The problem is that there is nothing really distinctive about it.  There is really nothing here that you haven't seen before in countless other cop thrillers.  The characterization is minimal with the result that it is very hard to care about anyone in the film, and the relentlessly moving camera just makes the action look confused.

It's the kind of movie that will probably have a long life on late night cable, and it passes the time, and it is quite entertaining, but you'll probably have seen it all before.