Michael Medved

“Triple 9” is about 2 hours of non-stop violence &#8212 very poorly choreographed violence. It’s one of the most annoyingly awful movies in recent months.

The entire thing is so non-credible, incoherent, bizarre and lame. No one will enjoy this movie. I give it 1.5 stars &#8212 a charitable 1.5 stars &#8212 and only because of the strength of the performances. No one will be disappointed when “Triple 9” is ignored at next year’s Oscars.

“Triple 9” does not stand for Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan &#8212 though it is set in Atlanta where Herman Cain is from. The 9-9-9 is, apparently, code for the Atlanta Police Department for an officer down. There is a group of robbers and criminals who are very sophisticated, some of whom are actually cops, and some are former Blackwater professionals &#8212 people who have been in Iraq and skilled in violence. They are going to pull off a caper and steal from the Department of Homeland Security. And part of this plan is they understand that if they shoot a police officer, the entire police department will be distracted and go off to support that officer.

The sacrificial officer that they are going to shoot is played by Casey Affleck. He is one of many in a terrific cast. The mastermind of this criminal enterprise is Kate Winslet, with a very lame Russian accent. Woody Harrelson plays what could be the only decent cop. The real star of the film is a terrific actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was nominated for an Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.”

With a cast like that, how does the movie unravel?

A terrible script and utterly incoherent direction. You have no idea what the heck is going on. And part of that is intentional because you are not supposed to know who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. But for a film like this to work there has to be some sense of believability. The director, John Hillcoat, is very clearly influenced by Michael Mann and his kind of up-close, look at the gritty details of capers and cops. But none of the details here feel real. Even the blood looks fake.

One thing worth noting that I hated about this movie &#8212 and hate is not too strong of a word &#8212 is that they appear to have shot it on location in Atlanta, but there is no sense of place. This could be anywhere. There is a complete absence of any indication that this is set in Atlanta.