Five former special forces operatives decide to steal a drug barons fortune and when the plan goes awry their skills and loyalties are put to the test.

The most exciting aspect of Triple Frontier is the talent involved. Initially planned to be directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal, the team behind The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty and Detroit you would expect it to be a hard hitting and tense film with a moral depth. When Bigelow stepped away, J.C. Chandor stepped in to direct and take a co-writer credit. Chandor is responsible for Margin Call, All is Lost and A Most Violent Year. Another string of films that masterfully convey tension, survival skills and moral ambiguities in turn. Add to that the cast of Oscar Isaac, Ben Affleck, Garett Hedlund, Charlie Hunnam and Pedro Pascal and you have an enormous amount of talent on your hands. (Tom Hanks, Jonny Depp, Will Smith, Mahershala Ali, Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy has all been attached at various points in its 9 year gestation.)

The end result of all that talent is an entertaining, solid action film with good acting and decent set pieces. It doesn’t have anything new to say about the effects money can have on behaviours or the drug wars in South American countries. Whilst you will have enjoyed your two hours with the film I wouldn’t think it will live in the memory long or that it will be entering the pantheon of great films.

Also, just because I needed to look it up after I saw the film. The Triple Frontier of the title is the place where Brazil, Peru and Colombia meet which is where the film is set.