Runtime: 125 minutes
Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Starring: Ben Affleck, Oscar Issac, Charlie Hunnam, Pedro Pascal, Garrett Hedlund, Adria Arjona
From: Netflix
Even if the title isn't explained in the movie (it refers to the area in South America where the borders of Brazil, Colombia and Peru meet and where the majority of the film's set), it was still pretty good. At the time I heard mixed reviews so I put it off until now... yet made for Netflix movies are in general rather lousy at best so I might as well take a chance on a title w/ a director whose name I recognized, along with the main cast and the heist plot aspect.
A quintet of ex Delta Force soldiers get together to rip off a drug dealer of all his cash; this scheme is enacted by one member of the group (Oscar Issac) as he's tired of the drug dealer causing all that crime and tragedy in the country. As it is a movie w/ heist elements, is it a surprise that plans go awry? There is action, surprises, drama, conflict, and the heist itself... all of that is done pretty well. Yet it's not a rote story of random aggro macho dudes blowing crap off and killing SOB's. Instead, they are middle-aged dudes who all have their struggles in “the real world” after their military successes so time is spent on that, and how the boucoup money would be a great reward for them despite the questionable ethics of what they're doing-a point that was brought up. The movie was a present surprise-especially by Netflix standards-and I can't complain about anyone in the cast even if I haven't loved all of them in everything I've seen them in... and one's performance was kind of rocky at first. Many actors were attached to this at one point; the ones that were eventually hired managed to be at least fine.
Perhaps the movie was made for middle-aged guys like me. At least the story was on the mature side and even if there were few surprises, it was all solidly done. As an old man I can enjoy the lovely scenery of Colombia, be amused that Ben Affleck and Isaac drank Pabst Blue Ribbon in one scene-except for remembering Ben's real-life struggles with alcohol-and the DAD ROCK that appears on the soundtrack. Some of the tunes are overused in this medium although the early Bob Dylan tune was a pleasant surprise and I am amused that 80's Metallica is now in the dad rock category-although it's true. Two songs of theirs are present and they are at least fresh by movie usage standards. You may expect more from the people that gave us the likes of The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, and A Most Violent Year... no complaints on my end.
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