Review: Free Fire
Shoot outs for all.
It's 1978 and two Irish men, Frank (Michael Smiley) and Chris (Cillian Murphy) meet up with their contact Justine (Brie Larson) to buy some guns. They bring along Bernie (Enzo Clienti) and Steveo (Sam Riley) to help load up the goods. They meet the arms dealers, Ord, (Armie Hammer) Vernon, (Shartlo Copley) Martin, (Babou Ceesay) Gordon (Noah Taylor) and Harry. (Jack Reynor) What should be an easy exchange goes wrong in just about every way possible.
I estimate that about 75 of this 90 minute movie take place in an active shoot out. No one gets to stand upright for more than 2 seconds after that. These characters all manage to get shot in some part of their bodies so the spend the rest of the film crawling, hiding, and you guessed it, shooting. It's a hard narrative to keep interesting but the cast are so charismatic that they make it work. Mostly.
Larson, Murphy, Ceesay, and Reynor were my favorites. Armie Hammer was the one that surprised me the most. This role really suit him well. But I need to take a second to complain about billing. And yes, I realize I'm being the pettiest person who ever pettied right now, but I have no idea why Hammer and Copley are billed above Murphy and Larson. I mean, technically I know why, contracts and what not but it makes no sense. Hammer and Copley are arguably slightly lower on the popularity scale than Larson (an Oscar winner) and Murphy. (A Golden Globe nominee) Screen time wise, I think Larson and Murphy slightly edge the other two out as well. But isn't the point of winning and being nominated for awards to kind of bump you up on the billing list? I hope Larson made as much as these other dudes. She deserves it.
Rant aside, like I said. This movie is mainly a shoot out, there's not a whole lot to elaborate on without getting spoilery. It's a far from perfect film but made for an enjoyable watch.
Recommended: Yes
Grade: B-
Memorable Quote: "You take what you want, girl." - Chris (Cillian Murphy)
Haha "pettiest person to ever pettied" ...love that.
ReplyDeleteThis movie just didn't intrigue me whatsoever, and you review kind of sealed it's fate for me.
I can be pretty petty lol.
DeleteYeah, if this wasn't something that caught your eye from the trailer, it's probably not worth it.
Murphy has been in one of the most revered movies (not by me) in existence - Inception - so he should be automatically billed first. Hammer is practically cursed and Copley has embarrassed himself half a dozen times in last decade
ReplyDeleteLike, Murphy has been in a ton of shit (and robbed of an Oscar nom for Breakfast on Pluto but I digress..) the billing is so backwards. No way Copley sells tickets over Murphy or Larson.
DeleteI have o desire to see this film and am surprised Brie is in this from the way you described it. I don't think you are petty but make a valid point
ReplyDeletelol that's good. I felt a bit petty complaining about it.
DeleteI really want to see this as my local multiplex is playing the film which I hope would continue for another few weeks as I have very little time to go to the theaters at this moment. Hopefully, that would change during the summer.
ReplyDeleteI hope it sticks around long enough for you to see it.
DeleteNice review! I mainly wanted to see this for Larson. Your question of her not getting top billing/might not get paid as much as the guys makes me wonder about the benefits of winning an Oscar, and if it's different between actors/actresses. I want to write a post about it now! :P
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder the same thing. Especially since she won it right before she filmed this and gave the film a lot of publicity.
DeleteI was pissed my theater didn't pick this up, as it looks like my kind of party.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed we get it this week, but who knows, we're getting a lot of weird Christian movies lately...what the Hell is up with that?
Dude, so are we. I haven't been to the theater in about 3 weeks since that's all we've been opening.
DeleteGuardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 has
Delete5 Post Credit Scenes.
I saw the trailer for it during The Fate of the Furious and I was like.. whaaaaat? It seems like a violent one.. but I do love movies with minimal or limited filming locations so I mean, this could be great for me!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to sound weird but for a movie about a shootout it's not that violent. No one is getting shot graphically or sensationally. A lot of it is played for laughs.
Delete"It's a far from perfect film but made for an enjoyable watch." This was my feeling, too. The editing was kind of awful in some spots, making it hard to follow who was where and doing what to whom. It also wasn't quite as funny as I had hoped based on the trailer. So I was a bit disappointed, but I didn't dislike it. Performances are all pretty great.
ReplyDelete