The Walking Dead

Triple 9

I like to remain open-minded about my film experiences, and sometimes I take a more cerebral approach to my cinematic choices by occasionally venturing beyond my comfort zone. But when all else fails, stick with what you know. When I saw the trailer for Triple 9, I knew this was my type of movie. Reminiscent of movies such as Training Day and Street Kings, Triple 9 promised a gritty look into the seedy world of corrupt law enforcement and the criminals to whom they are indebted. Featuring a talented cast including the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor (Secret in Their Eyes, The Martian) and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs), my curiosity was sufficiently piqued. It looked like the type of movie to fly under the radar, and sure enough my theater was sparsely populated.

I often say that movies are won and lost in their opening and closing sequences, and Triple 9 started with a literal bang and never let up. It begins in the back of a van, without about six men gearing up for what appears to be some type of tactical mission. Are they cops? A swat team? Bank robbers, or all of the above? They expertly execute a bank heist with precision, targeting only a singular safe deposit box. As they flee the scene of the crime and peel off their masks, we see that most of them are actually cops. They are lead by Michael Atwood (Ejiofor), ex-military private security, police officers Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie, The Night Before), Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr., Transcendence), ex-cop Gabe Welch (Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad) and his brother Russell (Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead). The crooked bunch are working at the behest of the Russian mob, controlled by a very sinister Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) as Irina Visalov, wife of an incarcerated Russian mobster.

Irina and Atwood’s relationship grows increasingly volatile after she ups the ante and insists they pull off another heist, this time from a Homeland Security facility – a nearly impossible feat. In a cruel stroke of genius, Rodriguez has a plan to divert local law enforcement’s attention while they pull of the job. When an officer goes down in the line of duty, his fellow brothers in blue respond immediately, citywide. Just as 187 is the police code for murder, 999 (triple 9) is the code for officer down, or in distress. If they can pull off a Triple 9, they can square things with Irina and walk away with a big payday. Stuck between the law and the mob, these crooked cops have their work cut out for them, leveraged to the hilt.

I enjoyed this movie for the simple reason that it was entertaining. There were some issues with pacing, as the movie wore on in its final act, but overall I enjoyed it because several scenes were nothing short of an adrenaline rush. The performances were mostly good, with Mackie and Ejiofor particularly bringing a convincing and conflicting emotionality to their roles. Winslet was as I’d never seen her, unnerving and vicious. The script faltered a bit here and there in terms of realism, but I mostly thought it was solid. You could say this was a poor man’s Training Day, and it won’t be remembered, but hey, I liked it! I give it a solid grade of: B

World War Z

The heartthrobs of yesteryear have still got it.  I said it last year about Denzel Washington in Safe House, and I’ll reiterate the point here with Brad Pitt (Killing Them Softly), who scores the highest grossing debut weekend of his career with World War Z.  Although Pitt has aged nicely since he first came on the scene in Thelma & Louise, it’s not really about his looks here.  He’s our leading man, but I think he’s shying away from the types of roles that characterized his earlier career.  The  zombie storyline of World War Z is a familiar one, as television shows like The Walking Dead have become increasingly popular. The movie’s action was immediate and relentless, and I found myself quite literally on the edge of my seat.

The film begins with an introduction to Gerry Lane, a former UN employee who left the organization to spend more time with his wife (Mireille Enos, The Killing, Gangster Squad) and daughters.  Within five minutes of meeting the family, the horror begins on a routine drive to school through downtown Philadelphia.  While sitting in an unusual traffic jam, Gerry and his family notice that there is an unseen commotion swelling behind them.  Something weird is going on.  In this age of terror attacks, one can never be too careful, and this early scene was authentically unsettling.

A passing police officer gives Gerry an ominous warning to remain in his vehicle, and no sooner than he turns to leave, an out of control truck flattens him instantly.  Gerry barely has time to process what has happened before nearby pedestrians begin to run from an unknown horror.  As they flee, he turns to see a man convulsing and contorting his body in ungodly positions.  He has a wild, diseased look in his eyes, and it is clear that this “person” is not of this world.  It’s the zombie apocalypse!

The movie chronicles the zombie outbreak as it affects the entire planet, with each continent facing population extinction.  Torn between remaining with his family and returning to his old job to help figure everything out, Gerry eventually decides that if he wants to help his family, he must resolve to help humanity first.  Apocalyptic tales fascinate me, as they reveal much about the human psyche.  When the constraints of traditional society and civilization are stripped, we see man return to his most base instincts of survival, with Darwinism prevailing.  The immediacy of the zombie threat and the prospect of death created an especially terrifying climate, and the panic and fear were palpable.  Pitt was an ideal protagonist: brave, resourceful and facing some tough odds – everything you’d want in a hero.

If there were any criticism to be had, it would be that things just sort of happened.  There wasn’t a lot of character development, because it simply wasn’t that type of movie.  There is a singular catastrophic event central to the plot, and everything else happens in furtherance of that plot.  I didn’t read the book, so if the movie fell short in its interpretation; I wouldn’t know.  Overall it was very good, and if you’re one of those folks who occasionally doze off during movies, rest assured – it won’t happen here.  Grade: A –

Snitch

I think there can be many ingredients to a successful movie, and there are a variety of ways to end up with an entertaining film.  A movie with a hackneyed plot can still be salvaged with good performances from a gifted cast.  Similarly, a highbrow concept can compensate for trite dialogue.  In Snitch, director Ric Roman Waugh presents a direct but effective story of a man who will exhaust all measures to protect his son. I don’t think Waugh had any great artistic aspirations with this movie, but it was enjoyable in its simplicity and straightforwardness.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson(Fast Five) stars as John Matthews, a recently divorced father of two.  His teenaged son Jason lives with his mother (Melina Kanakaredes, CSI: NY) while John resides with his second wife and their young daughter on a large estate.  A small business owner, John’s job occupies him most of the time.  Perhaps it is this inattention from his father that leads Jason to a very poor decision to get involved with illegal drugs.  He foolishly agrees to allow a friend to mail him ecstasy pills, with the understanding that the friend will pick them up later.  The package is intercepted from Jason’s friend, who agrees to implicate Jason for a reduced penalty.  Ultimately Jason is arrested after he accepts the package, devastating his parents and jeopardizing his promising future.

Jason’s crime subjects him to mandatory minimum laws that require a mandatory sentence for a particular crime, even if it’s the accused’s first offense.  Thus, Jason will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, unless he cooperates with the authorities and “snitches” on one of his friends in order to reduce his sentence.  Refusing to betray one of his friends, Jason remains silent, with no hope of release.  With Jason’s refusal to cooperate, John offers to stand in his son’s place and act as an informant for the U.S. Attorney (Susan Sarandon, Cloud Atlas).  If he can help them ensnare someone higher up the “food chain,” Jason’s sentence will be reduced to 6 months.  Snitch is inspired by true events, but this part of the story seemed implausible to me.  I’ll overlook its dubiousness, since I know it is just a vehicle by which to set up the major premise of the movie.

After John gets the green light from the Feds, he enlists the help of one of his employees (Jon Bernthal The Walking Dead), an ex-con who can provide the entre into the underworld that he needs.  The bulk of the movie follows John as he moves closer to landing a major cartel player in order to save his son.  The movie was action-packed and tense, and Johnson’s portrayal of a devoted father was convincing.  He showed a subtle tenderness in a few scenes, displaying the right mix of intensity and restraint in the role.

However, there was virtually no character development.  The movie was very linear, and it reminded me of the old “B movies” of the 1980s.  Despite being straightforward, I appreciated its commentary on the criminal justice system.  Waugh closes with an astonishing statistic that mandatory minimum laws often result in greater sentencing for drugs than rape and murder.  The movie humanized the war on drugs in a thoughtful, simple way.  The only other observation I’d make is that I was surprised by the quality of the cast.  In addition to Susan Sarandon, Barry Pepper (Broken City) and Benjamin Bratt also make appearances, and I thought Waugh was lucky to have them in such ordinary roles.  Simple yet illuminating, Snitch was a fairly good way to spend an afternoon at the movies.  Grade: B

This article first appeared at Poptimal and was reprinted with permission