Cinematic Releases: Free Fire (2017) - Reviewed




Bullets fly as Sharlto Copley once again proves his worth as one of the most diverse actors working today. His wit and humor hit the screen with a massive amount of steady brilliance. And the always sharp Brie Larson escapes her dramatic shell with a role befitting the future Captain Marvel. Last but not least, Armie Hammer plays cool and collected while the rest of the dirtbags around him eat a cold platter of gratuitous pulp fiction with a nasty tasting side of warm lead.

When a dodgy gun deal goes south, it's game on for a ninety minute shooter that pits Brie Larson and a cast of greasy criminals against their would be underground weapons dealers. Using a grimy aesthetic intertwined with era perfect music, Free Fire is a solid blast to the face that cashes in on an old school feel and a setting that calls back to the glory days of Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. Set in a broken down warehouse, Ben Wheatley's latest flick blends dark humor, tweaked out action, and smart plot elements that separate this from other retro themed crime films. With only a few minutes of exposition, our characters are given very little back story as this shoot em up genre flick engages them almost immediately. 

Free Fire is its own beast. Carved as a rudimentary film about the seedy underbelly of the world of crime, it fills a void that's needed in modern cinema.There is literally nothing like it right now. Wheatley delivers a calculated tale of cat and mouse that amalgamates a strange set of self serving crooks into a gritty tale of pain and bullets that kills, smashes and burns with no remorse. Interestingly enough, this hour and a half package of sheer bloodshed is wrapped up tightly and leaves the door wide open for a continuation that could definitely fill another vacant slot in Larsen's schedule.

Enough. Enough. I know the A-Team movie rocked.

Using a color palette that oozes dirt and tones of the post industrial breakdown, Free Fire gives audiences something to latch onto that doesn't feel overplayed in the era of comic book heroes and over the top action. It's brutal in all the right ways and uses realistic violence to its full extent. There is no one to like here. These characters are all scummy bad guys with two things on their mind. Money and guns. It feels good to finally get another movie that cuts right to the chase. Free Fire never stops for a single breather. From minute one, it's a great time watching terrible people die. 

If you're a fan of marvelous casting, see Wheatley's latest. 

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Score


-CG