Netflix's latest feature film Triple Frontier sees a group of ex-Special Forces operatives go on a clandestine mission in South America armed to their eyeballs with guns and explosives.
So far, so like every 80s action thriller.
But as it turns out, Triple Frontier is much more than just another big dumb action flick. This is thanks in no small part to the extraordinary talent involved. It is helmed by Oscar-nominated director J.C. Chandor, best known for 2014's A Most Violent Year, written by Mark Boal of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty fame, and features Hollywood A-listers Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Pedro Pascal and Garrett Hedlund.
The film was originally released in select US cinemas on March 6, before becoming available for streaming on Netflix. On March 8, Affleck and co-stars Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim) and Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) were in Singapore to promote the film ahead of its worldwide release.
At Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, hundreds of Singaporean fans showed up for a chance to get up close and personal with their favourite stars. Affleck, Hunnam and Hedlund spent about an hour at The Shoppes walking the red carpet, mingling, taking selfies with lucky fans and signing autographs.
"This is our first time here in Singapore. It's a beautiful city, and we're so thrilled to be here to meet our fans, talk about the film, and hopefully have a chance to explore the city," said Affleck at the beginning of the press conference, where he and his co-stars discussed what went on behind the scenes and the challenges of making this film.
In Triple Frontier, a group of former Special Forces operatives plan the heist of a drug lord's fortune in a small border town in South America. For the first time in their long careers, they decide to do the mission for their own personal gain rather than for their country. But events take an unexpected turn, testing their loyalties and morals in an epic battle for survival.
The film suggests that money and military intervention go hand-in-hand. When mistakes happen, money changes hands, but the infringements are never fully forgiven.
"The film is a couple different of films in one, really," said Affleck. "On one level, it's a very exciting, tension-filled heist movie. Underneath that is a character story of these professional soldiers who take on a mission that is morally questionable. This is not about telling a male story or masculinity but a story rooted in the truth of the Special Forces."
"There'll be a lot of unpredictable twists and turns that'll keep people guessing," Hedlund said.
"It's a real testament to J.C. [Chandor]'s storytelling -- you just never know what's going to happen."
English actor Hunnam said the story also addresses the issues of what happens to soldiers after they retire.
"We explore the difficulty of reintegrating into civilian life when your specific, central purpose and training are no longer deemed valuable or useful when you're still in the prime of your life," he explained.
Hunnam admitted that one of the benefits from working on the film was the opportunity to work in places that he called "paradise".
"We got to shoot in some extraordinary locations. Primarily we went to Oahu in Hawaii, then we went up to the mountains in northern California and to Bogota. It was three extraordinarily beautiful locations, particularly Hawaii," he said.
Like other films in the same genre, Triple Frontier is about a band of brothers and the camaraderie between them. It helps, then, that many cast members are longtime friends in real life.
"A lot of us had already known each other prior to this. Oscar and I had known each other for 10 years. Charlie and I have been best pals for 15 years. So the camaraderie and brotherhood between us came easier," said Hedlund.
Affleck too had fond memories of the filming experience: "As guys, we had an ease with one another, a kind of shared sense of humour. You can really bond on a movie like this."
Later on during the roundtable interview, Affleck was asked to comment on recent criticism from Steven Spielberg over Netflix's position as Oscar contenders. The veteran director suggested its movies should qualify for Emmys instead. There have been reports Spielberg will be speaking with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors to insist on a rule change that will render films made by streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon ineligible for the Oscars.
Affleck praised Netflix's commitment to telling new stories. He also described the rise of streaming services as an evolution in filmmaking. However, he acknowledged that not everybody is presently on board.
"It's very exciting because you get the sense that you're defining where the future of cinema and distribution is going," he said. "I'm not entirely sure how it's going to look -- there's some controversy, people have different opinions. That's really a question for interested outside groups and how they define the popular art that they are interested in giving awards to -- or not -- or how you qualify for that. After all, I'm not on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences or any other group."
