Greetings
valued Dan's Movie Report readers, the event action film of 2019 is
here. Triple Threat will finally be released Worldwide beginning with
a 150 screen blast on Tuesday, March 19th, 2019 in the
USA. Dan's Movie Report is thrilled and honored to be chosen among
the few journalistic outlets to screen the film early and provide
thoughts on the project.
Because
this is a very early review, and many portions of the plot and
character development are integral to the audience enjoyment of the
film, I have decided that this will not only be a spoiler free
review, but a timeline and nuanced unspecific review, more like
random thoughts, not following any structure.
Director
Jesse V. Johnson crafts a undulating masterpiece in Triple Threat as
the audience is inserted right into the story literally from the
opening moment of the film. Lush images of a jungle in South East
Asia is the backdrop for an opening to set the stage. Triple Threat
is meant to be a theater movie, and one to crank the volume up! While
many comparisons on the web have been made to The Expendables,
ultimately I see a far more personal story here. Each character, is
given a voice in the action, and time is taken to allow the actor to
show emotion throughout.
Another
element in Triple Threat that is particularly enjoyable is the
interplay between characters who have a very tenuous relationship,
The audience at times never knows if the person will be deceitful.
This is what can be considered the third element, the protagonists,
the antagonists, and those whose alliance suits their own needs and
focus. Again revealing this, will spoil the story. Of course it is
well known who the bad guys are. Scott Adkins, Michael Bisping, Jeeja
Yanin, Michael Jai White, and Ron Smoorenburg are an elite band of
hired mercenaries. Enough details regarding the action have come out,
who fights who, and some of the locations of the fights.
Celina
Jade, in her most complete character role to date, plays a
Billionaire's daughter who is intent on ridding the city of Bangkok
of crime, but of course so many want to stop her. Celina is an
amazing actress, Triple Threat is a movie where she has to push
through a myriad of emotions, all the while keeping focus on what she
must do to accomplish her goal. She forms a bond with Tony Jaa's
character in Triple Threat, and the fact they have worked together
prior in Skin Trade shows.
Tony
Jaa is a force of nature, The man is pushing hard to get is acting
skill at the top level. Wait, what the hell are you saying Danny?
Yes, the thing is, this is what sets Triple Threat apart from I can
safely say, 95 percent of all other action films, the acting. Jesse,
took his time explaining to the actors, what he wanted in a
particular scene, so much focus, the result is not only the actors
show more emotion, but ultimately the film more watchable. Ron
Smoorenburg, told me that Jesse gave him the motivation for his
character and the reasoning behind why his character is wearing the
glasses, a nerdy Rambo! Ron said it helped him, feel the character.
Action actors, are mainly known for kicking ass and being stoic
onscreen, In Triple Threat, the characters are flawed and have things
happen to them that requires emotion. So important this is, Jesse
sets the bar high for his actors, and gets results in Triple Threat.
Pointing
out a few strong highlights of Triple Threat, the first one being
just a great action sequence, and fight between Tony Jaa and Ron
Smoorenburg. The full force fight is close quarters, hard, angry, and
no body part is left without bruising. Fight choreographer Tim Man,
has truly crafted some of the most entertaining action in a long time
in Triple Threat. His action prowess is well documented, and he keeps
leveling up in each outing. Speaking of fights, a sequence near the
end was choreographed by the amazing Luke LaFontaine, and his style
is different from Tim's, actually this allows for diversification in
the action and completely works for the story.
Scott
Adkins explodes with emotion in Triple Threat, he is the angry
yelling villain we all needed to see. Gone is the stoic, I will kick
your ass and be done mentality, now he is raw, visceral and raging.
He is not only the leader of the group of mercenaries he is angry
throughout the film. This leads to rash decisions and unpredictable
actions, the makings of a great action movie!
All of
the elements are solid in Triple Threat, lighting, cinematography,
and scope. Triple Threat feels big, by that I mean perhaps a film of
5-10 times the budget. Rolling in at a crisp 96 minutes, felt a touch
short, but the edit kept the story moving, I sincerely hope a
complete Blu-Ray is released with director commentary, deleted
scenes, and a deconstruction of some of the action and locations.
Some
small gripes are the lighting near the final fight sequence, which
was shot in an different location. The back lighting was cool, but
the overhead lighting did not allow the audience to see the action as
well, I did do a second pass with the brightness turned up, it was
better, but the colors washed out a bit. Not a gripe, but because the
film is in multiple languages and subtitles are used, certain
characters voices, are louder than others, of course this cannot be
helped, but letting the audience know what to expect. I would have
liked to see a back story on the mercenaries, prior to them being
inserted into the jungle, even 3 minute montage, may have helped.
Jesse, to his credit does in effect do this through a past vision
element, but again, a few moments prior, may have helped character
motivation, and for the audience to feel more emotion towards them.
Those
minor elements aside, overall Triple Threat is a great film, one that
has not only repeat watch- ability, but memorable quotes! Not wanting
to spoil them, I will point out one such quote from Celina Jade
saying after she is whisked away on a boat, to Tony Jaa and his
unlikely friends. “Can I trust you guys?” Then looks worried. A
pensive moment, yet something adding a bit of levity do to the timing
of the statement ha, usually this is said prior to a daring rescue!
As for
a rating, whew, "Triple Threat is a bombastic, fantastic, masterpiece,
pushing the limits of character!" YEP, that is it in a nutshell. Explosive in action and dialogue,
Triple Threat delivers the goods, in a blood soaked package! Even the
minor gripes are minuscule compared to what the team has
accomplished. The film rates a 9 out of 10, it is that good. All one
can hope for is either a part 2 or another film starring some of the
same cast! Kudos to Well Go USA, for pushing the boundaries of their
own company as well and really putting focus on such a great
property, by releasing to theatrical on 150 plus screens!!!
For detailed information: https://www.triplethreatfilm.com/
Please
check out my partner site www.action-flix.com
where John and I do a dual interview with both Director Jesse, and
Ron Smoorenburg! .
Here is all of the information to BUY the film legally! Also to watch in theater! http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2019/03/official-triple-threat-news-chinese.html
