This crime movie set in Atlanta forced me from my suspension of disbelief with the introduction of the Russian Mafia and the set piece of three people decapitated by a cartel. I must have missed that day’s Channel 2 Action News. Judging from those fairly large plot devices, John Hillcoat, an Australian filmmaker most famous for his more-than-decent adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, might not have ever been to our state capital. 

Honestly, outside of those plot points, Triple 9 fits into the new brand of tough police procedurals exemplified by David Ayer’s excellent End of Watch. A gang of thieves led by Chiwetel Ejiofor and featuring all the actors you know (Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus and Clifton Collins Jr.) are plotting a heist for the Russian mob—led by Kate Winslet?! I forgot to mention Kate Winslet is the wife of a Russian John Gotti; her accent works 70 percent of the time. The good cops—Casey Affleck and Woody Harrelson—are hot on their trail, but the bad cops—I’m not telling who—are making it tough to catch them. 

Triple 9 breaks little new ground but executes what it does well. Plus, it was filmed in Atlanta, which, while becoming less of a novelty, still holds some interest for us in the Empire State of the South.