Review of Freelancers (2012) by Barry P — 26 Aug 2012

VIEWERS know that they are in for an absurd time when the opening scenes of Freelancers show a rookie cop entering a bar frequented only by crooked cops and filled with prostitutes in their most â~demureâ(TM) clothes.

Man, Iâ(TM)d want to be a cop, too, if a club like this ever existed.

Freelancers purports to show how tough life is on the mean streets of the US, but comes off more like a Training Day wannabe, with bits of Colombiana and Conan The Barbarian thrown in.

Why the last two flicks? Both have revenge as their main theme. In each of them, a child witnesses his parents being killed. He grows up and exacts revenge on the killers.

This is also the main premise of Freelancers, as rookie cop Malo (rap singer Curtis â~50 Centâ(TM) Jackson) had, as a kid, witnessed his detective fatherâ(TM)s killing.

However, I donâ(TM)t understand why the father took his son out for a spin when he was supposedly on duty.

The movie delays revealing whom actually killed the father, but it drops hints that the perpetrator is police captain Joe Sarcone (a gruff Robert De Niro), who was the fatherâ(TM)s partner at that time.

So as soon as Malo finds out who the killer is, viewers know the inevitable conclusion.

But not before he and two rookie cop friends do the bidding of Sarcone and are seduced by what their badges can do.

There are the usual scenes showing dirty cops at their best, that is, being kings of the world when it comes to drugs, violence and women (see Nicolas Cage in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans).

Maloâ(TM)s behaviour, meanwhile, is erratic and never fully explained. He knocks off his ex-girlfriendâ(TM)s brother and colleague in cold blood, and then, in another scene, is forced to kill either her or his former best friend.

However, he exhibits no regret nor disquiet over his behaviour.

The movie, directed by Jessy Terrero, leaves Maloâ(TM)s actions unanswered and makes him unaccountable for them.

Malo eventually becomes a government informant and sets a trap for Sarcone, which leads to the latter being killed. Then, he just sits in a van and stares pensively into thin air.

Thatâ(TM)s earth-shaking dramatic chops for you.