Is greed the final frontier?

The Special Forces in the US military as Im sure in other armed forces is special for a reason For one much like reliably experienced starperformers in a corporate firm or in sport or any other field they are allowed to almost operate solo with fewer rules governing their every move and far greater freedoms to chart their own path in ways that could potentially cause envy among the vast mass of colleagues in generalBut they get away with it simply because the privileges are a function of what they bring to the table which nobody else can What exactly do they do to deserve this Well the state is the employer It holds a monopoly over violence within constructs of law among its own citizensThe same state extending that power over a region outside its borders is considered an act of aggression even fullblown war Surely the latter is an expensive proposition not just economically but more so on human terms Given that war as the clicheacute goes is all about old men talking and young men dyingSince we tend to forget about 15 million peoplea million from Iran and 250000500000 from Iraqdied in that sixyear war between two hostile nonnuclear neighbours in the 80s alonejust a quick note of caution for Indias InternetTV soldiersWhat if you armed seriously trained few special men to accomplish covert missions aimed at extremely specific militaryenemy targets would that save large number of lives Possibly These supremely skilled men indulge in illegal activities under their national flag which distinguishes them from ragtag militia although they operate no differentlyGiven the unmatched expertise in tactical warfare where they can pull off impenetrable battlefield operations all on their ownwherehow does one apply the same rare but naturally wasted talent in a civilised world when theyre no more expected to serve their governmentActors Ben Affleck Charlie Hunnam Oscar Isaac Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal spent four days with retired Special Forces dudes leading up to the shoot of JC Chandors Triple Frontier which drops on Netflix today The five leading men play former Special Forces topguns who go back to the drawing board to sharply plan and rob a heavily guarded South American druglord for once And hopefully live happily ever afterTriple Frontier initially comes across as a typical heist pic with a lot of Western grungea genre older than one of my favourite classics Don Taylors The Five Man Army 1969 set during the Mexican revolution Except the heist here takes place well within the films first half so you know thats not all there is to itAs for governments mostloved undercover sharpshooters turning rogue thats turned out to be a pet theme among major blockbuster franchises anywaywhether Bourne Bond Kingmsan or Mission Impossible series What drives the men in Triple Frontier is greedneed aloneThis script was first written by Mark Boal for Katherine Bigelow to direct even before she made Hurt Locker 2008 Over the years the project passed hands to finally land on Netflix which is symptomatic of the current Hollywood studiotheatrical system that appears unwilling to invest in untested original bigbudget films as against what are known as IPs intellectual properties basically sequelsprequelsremakesrebootsI watched Triple Frontier at a proper theatre and its hard to tell whether the most stunning setpieces in itthe falling horse or the spiralling helicopterwill leave viewers equally awestruck on a smaller screen Steven Spielberg recently touched a raw nerve passing Netflix off as essentially television content which should bag a bunch of Emmys rather than multiple OscarsThats really for the outside groups to define popular arts that they are interested in giving awards to and what content qualifies for it Affleck tells me over a brief conversation promoting Triple Frontier where hes obviously the headlining act but stays slightly offcentre making the film entirely about five men and their deadly missionHow does this fit into Afflecks filmography though For decades as writer Goodwill Hunting director Argo but primarily staractor the first thing you notice about Afflecks career is a range thats neatly delineated between strong indies Chasing Amy Jersey Girl being my top picks and the massive event movies Pearl Harbour etc and well he iswas Batman after allLike with Indian cinema Affleck says this indiemainstream distinction belongs to the 90s2000s when he started his career and also did Shakespeare In Love 1998 which was a bit of both Now there is less bifurcation I try to fuse sensibilities of both the artistic and the popularsometimes to some success and sometimes to absolutely none at allHe hopes Triple Frontier is a kinda hybrid of both And so you turn it on have for a fun watch on a Friday night and the film is also characterbased provocative and interesting at a psychological level Yup check it out think youll agreeHere viewed from there C Y Gopinath in Bangkok throws unique light and shadows on Mumbai the city that raised him You can reach him at cygopigmailcom Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates