Free Fire (2016)

Free Fire (2016)

4/10

Starring

Sharlto Copley

Armie Hammer

Brie Larson

Cillian Murphy

Directed by Ben Wheatley

Free Fire is a movie that starts with an error and ends with practically everyone getting shot. The way some of the characters died is what kept me watching, but overall, I feel the movie isn’t that great, it just skimped over everything and went straight to chaos, even at the points where it dragged. It’s hard to call it half-and-half because there were times when it just dragged. I believe the British director, Ben Wheatley, could have done more with this production, this to me is more of a waste. This action comedy could have been cool if the comedy had more weight to fill the dull moments.

That being said, the acting wasn’t spectacular, and the ending was the only part of the movie that was done well. I was surprised by how it ended, and for everything the movie had to offer, it saved its best for the last minute, but that did not save the entire movie.

The movie’s plot starts simply. A duo, Stevo and Bernie, are heading to a meetup. Stevo tells Bernie that he got beat up by a man related to a woman he abused with a bottle.
When they arrive at the meetup, they’re met by Frank (Stevo’s brother-in-law) and his partner, Chris. There, they discuss with Justine, who’s linking them up with another group of gun sellers.
The deal was supposed to be quick: Frank and Chris need the guns and brought their muscle, Stevo and Bernie, to carry them. Justine is the go-between for the first group and the second group, which consists of Ord, Vernon, and some other muscle.

When the deal is done and it’s time to exchange merchandise, Stevo notices that one of Vernon’s men is the person who beat him up. While trying to hide, Stevo is spotted, and things quickly spiral out of control.
At first, they seem to have the situation under control, but Stevo foolishly brags about what he did to the girl. This leads to him getting shot in the shoulder, and we’re dragged into an hour-long shootout.

Here’s the joke of this shootout: almost everyone gets shot in the hand or leg, so they’re all dragging themselves around. This makes the movie even more boring, as we have to watch them crawl across the floor every time someone needs to get something.

In the end, I feel the movie had a good idea but wasn’t well executed.