Well-received commercial filler from NetFlix (keeping that pipeline loaded), ludicrously tagged as ‘based on true events,’ but really a tricked out caper pic with an All-Star cast. (Well, Two-Stars; Five Featured Players.) A prologue details a Miami drug bust gone wrong, ‘Cartel’ involvement, female Police Captain left dead. Later, back at Police Headquarters, Feds, Top Brass, Investigating Lieutenant and Detectives in-fighting to beat the band. Who pulled the trigger? Who fumbled the ball among the force? Hardly the best time to receive a CrimeStoppers tip on thousands in illegal drug money stashed in some ‘drop house.’ That’s when the twists start to show up as Lt. Matt Damon and longtime second Ben Affleck take very different approaches in dealing with the discovered cash; not thousands but 20 million. Tempting, no? Mob/cartel money? Connected to the Captain’s murder? Suddenly, every action has a double meaning. Someone going rogue? Innocent renter cuffed as possible accomplice. Neighborhood gone mysteriously dead. And is that a getaway vehicle waiting in the garage? So many questions! Not only who’s telling the truth, but what is the truth? Co-writer/director Joe Carnahan is something of an action specialist, not that you’d notice from the staging here. Lots of stuff playing in the dark. (To protect his reputation?) So when the explanations arrive, it’s hard to understand what happened . . . or care.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: With movies like this, it’s easy to see why NetFlix shies from theatrical release. Going straight to home platform makes this look like a hit. And, by the numbers, it is.
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