Triple Frontier should be prime fodder for “heist movie” fans. There’s hardly a dull moment in director J. C. Chandor’s film about the unexpected consequences of a jungle robbery. Plus, it’s fascinating to see Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal work so well together as former Army Rangers who decide to go on an illegal mission in the Brazilian jungle. Each of the characters they play seems to have a good reason to be involved. And they respect each other because of shared experiences in the past.    

Santiago (Isaac), who has grown tired of catching criminals, has come up with a plan that would give him and his crew enough money to change their lives for the better, and he knows four former Ranger buddies who could help make this happen. Tom (Affleck), now a less-than-successful realtor, needs to be persuaded, but Santiago is good at that. William (Hunnam), an Army Recruiter, lacks excitement for the routine speeches he must deliver, and his brother Ben (Hedlund) gets his lumps as an amateur MMA fighter. Francisco “Catfish” (Pascal) is a pilot who’s lost his license.

All five men seem happy to be together again. They also feel let down by the lack of respect for their accomplishments and sacrifices as Special Forces operatives. So they agree to go along with Santiago’s plan.

Unfortunately, as most of us know, “We plan; God laughs.”                

Murphy’s Law haunts a crew of five.

Will these brave men come out alive?

They want to steal a drug lord’s stash

and pull off the heist in a dash.

Into the jungle they all go

while dreaming about all that dough.

Their perfect plan soon goes awry,

confounding each and every guy.

Eagle-eye gunshots zoom through air.

Paper money flies everywhere.

How will crew members handle this

to make a hit and not a miss?

Five actors bond in these key roles.

But story leaves background potholes.

Suspense and action save the day.

Could a sequel be on the way?

Triple Frontier boasts a scary helicopter sequence that made me feel I was riding along with these guys.  It’s amazing how real everything appears and feels during this intense getaway segment that takes us over mountainous territory. Hold on to your chairs, folks!   

You can easily die racing to cover a bank robbery as you can in a war zone. --- Jessica Savitch

(Released by Neflix and rated “R” for violence and language throughout.)

For more information about Triple Frontier, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.