'Free Fire' A Review

Free Fire is an action-comedy set in the 70's about a gun deal in Boston between two IRA members and a local arms dealer facilitated by Justine(Brie Larson). The movie opens on two stooges driving in an RV on the way to the deal where all the players meet. Ord(Arnie Hammer) takes the prospective buyers into a warehouse for the actual exchange where the majority of the action takes place. Something goes wrong and bullets start to fly.

The high-caliber ensemble cast does well, charming and engaging as the talented typically are, Larson, Hammer, and Cillian Murphy especially. But although the cast are all funny and have good chemistry we don't particularly care about any of them because we don't really know anything about them. The story, essentially, takes place in one location which certainly made for an affordable production but doesn't make room for any character shades outside of witty.

Competently shot, scored, and staged the movie feels more like an exercise in screenwriting rather than an actual film that was intended for release. The tone is a bit muddled, the inspiration seems to clearly be Reservoir Dogs but doesn't have any of that film's grit or vitality and lands more in the realm of the clunky 2007 Shoot 'Em Up. Although short the film drags considerably in the final act as all the characters are basically crawling around wounded in the dirt groaning for 25 minutes.

An eclectic ensemble that can only do so much with a pedestrian script.

Rent It.