Acclaimed Australian director John Hillcoat (The Proposition, The Road, Lawless) may be treading on familiar ground with his upcoming and gritty cop thriller Triple 9, but with a star-studded ensemble and intriguing story set-up in tow, the filmmaker may be serving up a rare cinematic treat within a a sub-genre that has witnessed its fair share of approaches.
It’s releasing soon, too, with Open Road Films setting sights for a theatrical release on February 26, and to garner excitement ahead of its debuts, a slew of character posters have arrived via IGN that spotlight both sides of the law. In case you haven’t deduced it for yourself, yes, Triple 9 tells the gripping tale of a corrupt band of law enforcers who aren’t shy about getting their hands dirty in exchange for a quick buck.
Thrusted into the center of this moral maelstrom is Casey Affleck’s rookie Chris Allen (a role once intended for Shia LaBeouf and later Charlie Hunnam before Affleck arrived), who finds himself caught between the police officers he knows and seemingly trusted and the no-nonsense mobsters hailing from the Russian mob. Soon, though, Allen becomes little more than bait in a staged heist – one designed to attract the city’s finest brothers in blue to a hoax while the crooks can enact their plan on the other side of town.
Joining Affleck for the pulse-pounding thriller are Chiwetel Ejiofor, Aaron Paul, Wonder Woman herself Gal Gadot, Teresa Palmer, The Walking Dead fan favorite Norman Reedus and Anthony Mackie on a brief hiatus from the MCU.
John Hillcoat will hope to offer a new spin on a tried and tested formula when Triple 9 roars into theaters on February 26.
In TRIPLE NINE, a crew of dirty cops is blackmailed by the Russian mob to execute a virtually impossible heist and the only way to pull it off is to manufacture a 999, police code for “officer down.” Their plan is turned upside down when the unsuspecting rookie they set up to die foils the attack, triggering a breakneck action-packed finale tangled with double-crosses, greed and revenge.