'Highwaymen' and 'Triple Frontier' serve modest thrills

As studios continue to focus on younger audiences, a certain type of movie becomes more and more endangered. I’m talking about the mid-budget studio thriller, usually headlined by a reliable and relatable performer like Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner. They just don’t get the kind of wide push in theaters anymore. Heck, even Jack Ryan became an Amazon streaming show.

Netflix, in their continuing efforts to rule the world, seemingly noticed this trend, because two of their recent major releases feel like relics from the 1990s, that glorious time when people over the age of 30 still regularly went to the movies.

Both “The Highwaymen” and “Triple Frontier” have a certain “Dad Movie” quality to them — they’ve got the machismo, gun fights and straightforward, men-on-a-mission storylines that fit perfectly on a Sunday afternoon TNT marathon. And while both try to explore the flawed nature of masculine fortitude, they work best when playing the formula straight.

“The Highwaymen” follows the crime spree of the notorious Bonnie and Clyde but from the perspective of the lawmen on the hunt. In fact, the criminals are barely seen and say almost nothing, with director John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”) instead focusing on former Texas Rangers Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner) and Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson) as they come out of retirement to stop Bonnie and Clyde by any means necessary.

Costner and Harrelson make anything watchable, and the two work well together trying to muster believable drama out of a well-worn story. The movie has a predictably sharp 1930s aesthetic, and even though we know the inevitable outcome, “The Highwaymen” offers a few tense confrontations.

It’s also about 20 minutes too long, and the script heads into extremely clunky territory whenever Hamer and Gault drop everything to ruminate on evil and the act of killing. We’ve seen it all before, and you can probably nod off at a few places and not really miss anything. Perfect Sunday TNT fodder.

“Triple Frontier,” from “Margin Call” director J.C. Chandor, begins as a standard, high-octane action movie. Oscar Isaac stars as a private military advisor working to stamp out a ruthless drug kingpin in Colombia. An informant presents him the opportunity to not only take out the kingpin, but also escape the country with millions in lost drug money. So he recruits his former Delta Force teammates (including Ben Affleck as the team leader) to help carry out the heist.

That heist occurs surprisingly early in “Triple Frontier,” and it even goes relatively well. Getting out of the country, however, proves to be far more challenging. The movie has a few harrowing sequences, and the cast, which also includes Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal, create a compelling team dynamic. Affleck, in particular, gives a strong performance, as the actor does his best work when he’s willing to shade his movie star charm with deep-seeded anger and turmoil.

“Triple Frontier,” like “The Highwaymen,” gets a little flabby in spots, and the movie’s climactic action set piece feels tonally out-of-place. Still, it’s competently made and engaging enough when it needs to be. Perfect for that Sunday afternoon.

One quick note: Both “The Highwaymen” and “Triple Frontier” are rated R and feature graphic violence, so Sunday afternoon viewing only applies if the kids aren’t in the room.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.