We are still social distancing at-home, so we make the most of our humble home theater setup. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and a movie right in the comfort of our home. We are huge fans of the martial arts movie genre. We decided to pop “Triple Threat” in the Blu-ray player to see what it was about. We purchased this movie months ago but sat on it. As martial arts movie nerds, that was a huge mistake.
The first thing you need to know is to eat BEFORE not DURING. We were jumping and getting out of our seats throughout the movie due to the unexpected, brutal violence in this film. The first five minutes let us know exactly what to expect going forward. We waited for slow moments to eat while watching the film. We will most definitely watch it again but won’t eat while watching.
The second thing you need to know is this film is NOT for children. This high action, martial-arts movie is intensely graphic in the killing sequences. In our movie review critics opinion, we feel Triple Threat should not be watched by children AT ALL. I repeat this movie should not be watched by children of any age – period. Not in the room or within earshot. There are several grotesque and extremely violent kills. In fact, the number of bodies dropped in this film is amazing. The director was channeling Oprah “You get to die! You get to die!” The film is rated R for a reason. The death scenes are grisly, and no one is off limits. You’ve been warned.
If you are an ADULT who likes action-packed martial arts scenes. This shit right here – this shit right here is for you! The fight scenes are spectacular and well filmed. The cinematographer filmed a variety of well-cut, close-up, and long wide-angle shots so you don’t miss a punch or a kick. The slow-motion camera movement really emphasized the impact of the hits at the right moments. With two 12-inch subwoofers in our home theater, we heard every impact which intensified our movie watching experience.
Triple Threat is a high action, martials arts film directed by stuntman and martial artist, Jesse Johnson. The fight choreography in this film is beyond amazing. Some of the best fight choreography we have seen in years. The fight choreographer did a wonderful job of showcasing each fighter’s martial arts style. We experienced full action immersion during the fight scenes. No fighter outshines the other. Every fighter receives a comprehensive ass whooping at some point.
The casting director booked the who’s who, all-star, martial artists in this film. In the words of Martha Stewart “It’s A Good Thing!” The all-star cast includes: Tony Ja, Iko Uwais, and Tiger Chen as the triple threat heroes. Scott Atkins plays a no fucks given, crime boss named Collins. Michael Jai White, Jeeja Yanin, and Michael Bisping play Collin’s henchmen.
All these martial artists are lead characters in their own right. We know Tiger Hu Chen from “The Main of Tai Chi.” We loved Tony Jaa in the “The Protector,” “Ong-Bak” series, “Furious 7,” and “XXX: Return of Xander Cage.” We know Iko Uwais from “The Raid” and “Mile 22.” So many talented, martial artists in one film is amazing. With the top-notch casting, we expected a great movie. Unfortunately, the weak story plot did not live up to its full potential.
The story line is basic as hell. Real basic bitchassness. You have one group of mercenaries trying to protect a wealthy heiress while she is trying to bring down a crime syndicate. Another group of murdering, gives no fucks mercenaries are paid to kill the heiress. Three badass, light-weight, martial artists from the east whoop the asses of the thick neck, steroid induced, martial artists from the west. That’s it – that’s the story line. There is no deep character development in this film. You learn enough about each character to understand their role in the movie. We wondered if the writers were intentional in creating a simplistic story line? A simple story line keeps the focus on the action sequences since that’s want fans want. Characters – Problem – Fight – End. No more, no less.
Triple threat is a great movie for martial arts fans. The action-packed, fight sequences make up for the weak ass story line. How do you know if this film is for you? Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, and Tiger Hu Chen are starring in one film. That’s the only reason anyone needs to watch this film – PERIOD big dot.
Although we were entertained, there are moments in the film that just don’t make any damn sense. For example, men with military grade, automatic weapons can’t shoot. Why are highly trained killers with high-powered, military weapons missing their targets so much? They must be the same people who shot at Rick Ross. The so-called trained mercenaries in this film did not attend the John Wick School of Firearms Training. They aimed and shot like Stormtroopers.
As we mentioned in our warning above, this movie has some extremely, intense kill scenes. As Mercedes and I watched this movie, there were several times when she left her seat and walked out our home theater saying “Nope, Nope, Nope!” Keep in mind Mercedes is fully grown-grown. She is old enough to have kids, vote, drink, join the military, get married, etc. As grown ass adults, we had a tough time enduring the graphic scenes. You will experience some serious sympathy pains while watching this film. This movie will have you grabbing your arms, mouth, legs, etc.
During the opening fight scene in the ring, Tony Jaa jumps in the air then cracks his opponent’s skull with his elbow. We paused the movie and starred at the screen in disbelief. It was disgusting but we loved every minute of it. There is another scene where a woman is shot with a grenade launcher gun. The grenade gun blows her completely away except for her legs. What was left of the female mercenary’s legs was smoking. The crew even included the smoke. The way the film director and crew created this scene is visually detailed and realistic. We rewound the Blu-ray then paused the scene. The details in the exploded legs were amazing: broken bones, veins, muscle tissue, blood, etc. Her death looked very real.
Toward the end of the movie Triple Threat has one of those dumb scenes where the good guy says,
“This is personal. You killed my family!”
Then he puts the gun down. Mercedes and I rolled our eyes in complete disgust. When you are battling a trained killer, who gives no fucks, and is five times your size you don’t put down the gun. The gun is the equalizer.
Right after the dumbass put the gun down my favorite line of the movie was said by the bad guy.
“That’s the dumbest thing you are never gonna live to regret!”
We paused the movie to discuss how much we agreed with this statement. We jumped up saying to each other, “Exactly, who in the hell puts the damn gun down?”
A Reel Cinema @ Home is a mother, daughter collaborative because Mercedes is the best person to watch a movie with. Her sharp wit and perfect comedic timing enhance our movie watching experience. I learned something new about Mercedes while watching this movie. She is my daughter so what could possibly surprise me. I learned my daughter has my back. She said, “Really, really, if I needed to avenge your death. I will not be putting down the gun!” As a mother that’s the sweetest thing a daughter could say. LOL! I thought, “Awwwweee that’s so sweet!
In another scene near the end of the movie, Payu comes down the stairs and says,
“You left me for dead twice! It will not happen again.”
Mercedes immediately replied, “So What? You insulted now? Leaving you for dead twice is too much? The first two times didn’t make you angry, but you angry now?” The benefit of watching in our home theater is I was able to pause the movie and enjoy the laugh. Mercedes offered the perfect response. The moment would have made a perfect reaction video for our YouTube channel. Mercedes was elated when the woman finally picked up the gun and unloaded like someone defending themselves should. Mercedes said, “At least she didn’t drop the gun and cry. She unloaded like she was supposed to.” Mercedes statement told me I raised her right. I was a proud momma at that moment.
Overall, we enjoyed the hell out the fight scenes even though we were jumping and covering our eyes throughout the movie. Triple Threat brought out all our emotions. We were talking to the screen as if Jaa and Uwais could hear us. “That’s some nasty shit” was a phrase I repeated several times while watching the film. The action scenes really make up for the lame story line. Triple Threat was worth our time. We highly recommend this movie. Triple Threat will be back in our watch rotation soon.
Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 19, 2019
Starring: Tony Jaa, Tiger Hu Chen, Iko Uwais, Scott Atkins, Michael Jai White
Movie Rating: R (Strong Language and Violence)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Runtime: 96 Minutes
Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Written By: Lea Carpenter
