My Watering Hole: 3 Reasons Why I hated the movie Triple Frontier (2019)

Former Special Forces on the run and on mules

I give you three reasons why Triple Frontier sucks and there are spoilers.

Special Forces on Mules

Why slow down a team of former Special Forces on the run? It’s not an action movie if they walk.

Pope while in the consultancy job in Brazil

Chasing a suspect. The movie had a promising start.

Triple Frontier started with a bang but with still more than 45 minutes of runtime left everybody ended up on a mule; not a sexy galloping horse but a drug mule, the animal not the smuggler, which they got from a secret farm up in the Andes mountain range.

Only two amateurs familiar with local terrain were in pursuit. They managed to get lucky and kill one. Corny, although the indignity of dying from lucky shot and in an area they have no business in was probably the point.

Brazil was never mentioned; it only popped up if you were paying attention to road signs. When I Google triple frontier it pointed to a border area junction of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, (none mentioned in the movie) which is inconsistent with their flight plan.

The heavy load should have prompted the shortest path

The snitch wishes to get off at Peru

Santiago 'Pope' Garcia (Oscar Isaac) kept his promise to Yovanna (Adria Arjona), his snitch, who wanted a lift into Peru. From Peru the triple frontier is at least 1,000 kilometers away, but if you’re already in Peru the ocean would be easy (only ocean, they never mentioned a target country for escape) so why go back through a mountain range?

Soldiers with no sense of direction made the mule element much worse.

Not one character mentioned Brazil except this road sign

Pope and Ironhead are the energy to the Story.

When Pope had the idea for a big payday and eliminating the local drug lord in one swoop, William ‘Ironhead’ Miller (Charlie Hunnam) was the first man he talked to. The first person you seek out in a time of need is a good thing.

Pope and Ironhead started the movie

They looked like partners, leaders of a team that would follow them so why did Ironhead still ask that Tom ‘Redfly’ Davis (Ben Affleck) be invited in?

Pope did all the translating, the face to face, despite the presence of another Hispanic, Francisco 'Catfish' Morales (Pedro Pascal). Pope knew the snitch, he had the weapons and supplies, and he had the means to make the financial rewards legal.

The raid at the drug lord's hideaway. The movie still
had momentum at this time.

Ironhead would provide the ‘bird’ and Catfish was the pilot. Benny (Garrett Hedlund), Ironhead’s brother, completes the team.

Redfly would make the attack plan, supposedly what he’s there for, but he himself never followed it. He hung on too late, took out more than he could carry. Apparently he didn’t take into account getting out of the country.

Redfly giving the plan for the raid

Pope acting like the leader talking to a village elder

After killing the drug lord all I can remember from him is the money, always the money, when the situation called for adjustments – go fast, go light. The others obeyed him but none indicated that he had superior rank, if he had back in the day. They never ganged up on him despite growing reasons to do so.

Why? Special Forces types are supposed to be fast on their feet practical people. Why tolerate Redfly?

Not a 'hello sir' but a 'good to see you'

But Redfly is the emotional core (that failed)

I don’t know who he was to Pope, Ironhead, Catfish, and Benny. There was no picture of them serving together. He was never called by rank. You would think that with all the importance the military has with rank, Redfly would be called as such even in retirement. They never did, not even a ‘sir’.

In a team of equals Pope who has been in the country the longest should commander. Passing the torch makes no sense.

Redfly's daughter Tess looked chill about family life despite the separation

What were the missions they have had? Why was Redfly (just him?) forced to retire? How far did he fall from grace? What’s his house like? It’s almost as if being attach to the heist was an act of charity.

I only saw two unpaid bills hanging on his fridge, like many things in the movie the amount was not specified. He’s separated but that isn’t telling much. The daughter had one scene but there were no hints she knew her father was breaking.

Unpaid Bills

One poster that ever pointed to a past life in the armed forces

The heist turned for the worse because Redfly, a former member of the Special Forces who has a daughter he has to come back to, lost control in hostile territory because of the need for money.

That “twist” which turned a simple heist to a disaster was undeserved. Saying that he needs the money out loud does not cut it.

To honor a fallen comrade Pope, Ironhead, Catfish, and Benny did not take a dime in the amount that was left.

Call it survivors guilt, call it gratitude for a comrade who gave his life that they all go home, call it finally giving Redfly his dues after all the sacrifice for the country, the team without hesitation gave all the money to surviving family.