Triple 9

John Hillcoat likes his films mean and moody, a trend that continues with Triple 9, a movie that on first inspection so closely resembles Heat that expectations are raised accordingly. A story of dirty cops and robbers, it sees Chiwetel Ejiofor and his Atlanta gang narrowly escaping being caught carrying out a bank job only to then end up coerced by Kate Winslet's merciless mob boss into an even riskier heist. By Hillcoat's standards, this crime thriller is short on impact and depth. It also lacks the idiosyncrasy of his best work (The Proposition, Ghosts... of the Civil Dead) and pales in comparison to the greats of the heist sub-genre. What's more, Winslet fails to bring the requisite menace as she wrestles with an unconvincing accent. However, a striking use of red references the bonds of blood that connect and compromise, while sporadic directorial swagger - particularly in some tensely handled action sequences - and the remainder of the high-calibre cast (which includes Woody Harrelson and Casey Affleck) keep it watchable. Triple 9 makes some of the motions of a heavyweight thriller but there isn't much power behind its punches.