7 Years Later, Pedro Pascal & Charlie Hunnam’s Wildly Underrated Action Film Is Still 1 of Netflix’s Biggest Sleeper Hits

Netflix has built an impressive library of action films over the years, releasing titles like The Old Guard, 6 Underground, Extraction, Red Notice, and Triple Frontier. The original films boast impressive casts and larger-than-expected budgets. J. C. Chandor’s Triple Frontier makes the most of both, standing out as one of the streamer’s best sleeper hits.

Triple Frontier features Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, and Garrett Hedlund as former U.S. Army Delta Force operatives. The men team up for a heist against a notorious drug lord but must fight to survive when things go wrong. The film was released in select theaters in March 2019, a week before it debuted on Netflix.

Triple Frontier Has an All-Star Cast

Triple Frontier is a heist movie that follows five former Delta Force agents as they attempt to steal $75 million from a drug cartel under false pretenses. When Santiago “Pope” Garcia (Oscar Isaac) is made aware of the jackpot by an informant, Yovanna (Adria Arjona), he enlists the help of four former Delta Force co-workers to get the job done.

By the time the events of Triple Frontier take place, Pope’s co-conspirators have left their military lives behind: Tom “Redfly” Davis (Ben Affleck) is a relator, William “Ironhead” Miller (Charlie Hunnam) is a motivational speaker, Ironhead’s brother, Ben “Benny” Miller (Garrett Hedlund), is an MMA fighter, and Francisco “Catfish” Morales (Pedro Pascal) is a pilot.

Pope and the other former Delta Force agents land in the Colombian jungle and quickly get into action. As the heist progresses, it becomes clear that the group are anti-heroes, not protagonists. While they keep their promise to Yovanna, they are primarily motivated by a greedy desire for financial gain, especially Redfly.

Although Redfly and the rest of the group are morally gray at best and corrupt at worst, they are easy to root for. With millions of dollars on the line, the desperation of each character is palatable. Among the five former agents, Pope’s characterization is given an extra layer, as he consistently demonstrates emotional intelligence as he journeys through South America.

Layered Themes Are Explored in Triple Frontier

Ben Affleck stares at a lit flame in Triple FrontierImage via Netflix

While the heist and its fallout take center stage in Triple Frontier, the film also explores themes of friendship, greed, and survival. As former Delta Force agents, the men share a strong brotherly bond that allows them not only to reunite after years apart but also to attempt the heist through meticulous teamwork.

With millions of dollars on the line, however, Triple Frontier explores greed and its impact on a person. While all the men are satisfied with the amount of money found, Redfly quickly lets the payday cloud his better judgment. His greed spills over into the events of the film and sets the stage for the latter half.

Besides these themes, the Netflix action film also explores what it means to survive both within and outside military operations and on the battlefield. As the characters fight their way out of South America, they have to overpower everyone in their way. They slip naturally into their old Delta Agent roles. But when their post-military lives are highlighted before the heist, it’s clear that while the group leads quieter lives, they are neither happier nor more secure.

Is Triple Frontier Getting a Sequel?

Charlie Hunnam stars in Triple FrontierImage via Netflix

Although it wasn’t fully appreciated upon its release, Triple Frontier garnered enough viewership to spark talk of a sequel. While promoting his film Rebel Moon in 2023, Charlie Hunnam offered the best insight yet into the development of Triple Frontier 2 in an interview with The Mary Sue.

When asked about a potential sequel to the Netflix film, Hunnam replied, “Do you know, I mean, nothing guaranteed, nothing guaranteed. But I just set up recently as the main producer of a potential sequel to Triple Frontier at Netflix. So we’re working on that. It’s in its absolute infancy. But I feel like I’ve got a lot more to say about the sort of life after life of military personnel. So I’m really hopeful.”

Hunnam’s comments are encouraging for fans, though there is still a long way to go before the sequel is fully realized. It has been nearly two years since the actor revealed that a sequel was in development, and there have been very few updates since. Unfortunately, this means there may be a long wait ahead for the next installment.

Nevertheless, it seems Netflix hasn’t yet ruled out a sequel.

Triple Frontier is available to stream on Netflix.

Release Date

March 13, 2019

Runtime

125 minutes

Director

J.C. Chandor

Writers

Mark Boal, J.C. Chandor