Review of Free Fire (2017) by Kj P — 22 Apr 2017

Films revolving around one location throughout its entire run time have always been hit or miss for me. Films like 127 Hours that work unique visuals in, in order to tell the story, are remarkable, but films like Free Fire just don't have enough substance to sustain its 90 minute run time. Personally, this film would have worked as great action-packed short film that stuffed everything into about 20 minutes. Although directed with class and performed magnificently by a devoted cast all around, it really comes down to keeping your audience engaged, and while I was, it very quickly became repetitive as the film progressed. Free Fire is quite fun for a while, until it becomes slightly tiresome. Here are my thoughts on this average, yet entertaining shoot-em'-up flick.

Plain and simple, Free Fire follows two groups of men (along with one woman) as an arms deal is about to go down. Beginning with a simple misunderstanding, toppled with grudges between certain characters, an all-out gun fight occurs, pretty much lasting the full 90 minutes. Not taken too seriously, this film tries to be comedic at times, but sometimes that aspect falls flat, due to the fact that the hilarity dies out and it starts to take itself a little too seriously, dealing with some pretty dramatic and graphic scenery. This fun and simplistic premise works for the most part, but the action does become repetitive, making for a bit of a bore in the second act.

There are quite a few moments when the film slows down in order to service characters that have yet to be developed, but those moments don't last long at all. Each and every time the film decided to slow itself down, I was hoping for some flashbacks for some of the core characters, which would in turn make me care about who lives and who dies. Having not received that, I found myself realizing that wasn't their intention in the first place. This is a film that is meant to just make you sit back, relax, and see who lives and who dies, without consequence. Could this film have been improved by adding a few other locations and character backstory? Yes, but that didn't seem to be the intention.

Walking out of this film, the biggest positive I find myself commending this film on, is its cast and their interaction with one another. I believed every second of their interaction. Every word coming out of their mouths were either meant for comedic effect or to move the story alone, due to the small nature of the story. I loved the casting choices for everyone involved with this film, and the final product serves as a nice little comedic showcase for most of these talented performers. What is disappointing is the fact that this film is not being seen by enough moviegoers, once again proving that not every original premise can be successful.

In the end, I found myself quite enjoying the set-up for this film and the shootout itself is pretty fun to watch, but after about 30 minutes, it does seem to feel slightly repetitive. The cast works great together and the violence is definitely effective when it needs to be, but the main flaw is that I honestly couldn't tell if I was supposed to be laughing or mourning throughout certain moments. Free Fire definitely has impressive aspects and I can recommend it to action junkies or films stylized like Reservoir Dogs, but audiences members outside of that demographic may be turned off quite a bit. In the end, this is just another average action flick with a few above average sequences. I enjoyed it for the most part, but it barely warrants a recommendation as a whole.