7 Years Later, Ben Affleck's Stellar War Thriller Is Netflix's Best Original Movie

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Ben Affleck on the red carpet for 'The Rip'

Published Mar 18, 2026, 8:32 AM EDT

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.

Most movies on Netflix tend to fall into one of two categories: solid action thrillers (Extraction) or big-budget misfires meant to launch a franchise (The Electric State, Rebel Moon). One film stands head and shoulders above the rest, thanks to an incredible cast led by none other than Ben Affleck and an action-packed story with deeper themes baked into the narrative. That film is Triple Frontier, and seven years after its debut, it's arguably the best Netflix original movie. And yet, it's been regulated to a mere footnote in the streamer's history.

Triple Frontier begins when former Special Forces operative Santiago "Pope" Garcia (Oscar Isaac) learns that a drug lord has stashed $75 million in cash in the Colombian jungle. Pope recruits his teammates, including Tom "Redfly" Davis (Affleck), to steal the money for themselves; however, they learn that there's far more stashed in the house than originally intended. What follows is a nail-biting thriller courtesy of director J.C. Chandor, and some excellent performances from the cast, particularly where Affleck is concerned. It was also one of Netflix's most-viewed movies of 2019, racking up 52 million viewers in its first month. So why isn't this movie a bigger deal?

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'Triple Frontier' Blends Gritty Action, Deep Themes, & a Star-Studded Cast

Oscar Isaac and Ben Affleck as Redfly and Pope looking in the same direction in Triple Frontier.

Greed is the major theme running throughout Triple Frontier, and the group of soldiers at the film's core are hit hard by its negative effects. Despite only agreeing to carry a certain amount, Redfly grows obsessed with taking as much money as he can, and constantly questions the group's informant, Yovanna (Adria Arjona), on whether she told anyone else about the money. Eventually, his greed leads into bloody shootout after bloody shootout, and winds up costing him his life. This death comes as a shock, given that Affleck was arguably the biggest name in the cast, but it also underscores how quickly things can go south when greed takes over.

Affleck isn't the only big name in Triple Frontier; the cast includes future heavyweights like Pedro Pascal, who was months away from landing a major role in The Mandalorian, and Charlie Hunnam, who was on a red-hot streak in 2019. The cast could have looked a lot different, as a number of names were attached to the original script, including Channing Tatum, Tom Hardy, and even Tom Hanks. Affleck also briefly dropped out of Triple Frontier before rejoining the cast, and it's for the best as his performance forms the bedrock of the film's conflict. Triple Frontier would also briefly shift Netflix's approach to producing original films, as CEO Ted Sarandos was apparently reconsidering what to spend money on following its performance; recent Netflix movies carry budgets over $200 million, making Triple Frontier feel quaint by comparison.

Netflix & Ben Affleck Are Staying in Business Together

Triple Frontier isn't the only time that Ben Affleck has joined forces with Netflix. This year saw the debut of The Rip, another gritty action thriller that paired Affleck with his longtime friend and collaborator Matt Damon. Much like Triple Frontier, The Rip deals with themes of greed and trust as Affleck and Damon's police officers find millions in cash during a raid, and tensions grow as they suspect each other, and their fellow teammates, of trying to steal it. The Rip also made a big splash on Netflix, showing that these kinds of gritty thrillers are where Affleck thrives.

Affleck has also inked a pair of lucrative deals with Netflix. The first concerns Artists Equity, the production company he helped co-found with Damon, which has a first-look deal with Netflix targeting film and TV projects. Affleck's also overseeing a $600 million deal between the streamer and InterPositive, a firm he helped found that seeks to use AI tools in film post-production. These major moves wouldn't have been possible without his work on Triple Frontier, which deserves a reappraisal as the rare Netflix movie that commands its audience's full attention.