Triple 9

Buoyed by a big-name cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kate Winslet, this thriller is a typical tale of dirty cops and double crosses

Buoyed by a big-name cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kate Winslet, this thriller is a typical tale of dirty cops and double crosses.

Ejiofor leads a ruthless bank-robbing crew made up of corrupt Atlanta police officers and former special-forces soldiers, and a brassy Winslet, all bouffant hair and bling, is the flint-hearted Russian-Israeli mob boss who is coercing the gang into attempting a near-impossible heist.

The bent cops in Ejiofor's band include Anthony Mackie and Clifton Collins Jr's cutthroat duo, while Casey Affleck's guileless young officer and Woody Harrelson's cynical police veteran represent the city's beleaguered forces of good.

Australian director John Hillcoat gives the action scenes plenty of muscle, but the script fails to give the characters enough substance to make us really care about their eventual fates or give their ordeals emotional heft.