Genre Grandeur – Free Fire (2016) – Movie Reviews 101

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For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Boston Films, here’s a review of Free Fire (2016) by Darren of Movie Reviews 101

Thanks again to Ryan of Ten Stars or Less for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s Genre has been chosen by Vern of the Video Vortex. We will be reviewing our favorite Graphic Novels that have been adapted for the screen.

The one caveat is that it has to be based on a book that has been published.

Example The Killing Joke would be acceptable because it’s based on an actual graphic novel.  The Dark Knight would not because it’s based on characters and there was no book before the movie.

Here is what appears to be the official/unofficial list of film adaptations of Graphic Novels

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5201.Best_Graphic_Novels_Made_Into_Movies

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of May by sending them to Vernsworld@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Vern!

Let’s see what Darren thought of this movie:

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Director: Ben Wheatley

Writer: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump (Screenplay)

Starring: Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Jack Reynor, Michael Smiley

 

Plot: Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Lacking Substance

 

Story: Free Fire starts as we see Irish man Chris (Murphy) is joined by his men Frank (Smiley), Bernie (Cilenti) and Stevo (Riley) for a gun deal with connections Justine (Larson) and Ord (Hammer). The supplies are Vernon (Copley), Martin (Ceesay), Harry (Reynor) and Gordon (Taylor).

When tensions start to rise early on due to clash of cultures it isn’t long before all hell lets loose and everybody is trying to kill everybody else, but who can walk out alive from this arms deal gone bad.

 

Thoughts on Free Fire

 

Characters/Performance – Chris is an Irishman looking to get extra guns for the battle against the English. Justine is the connection between the two parties along with Ord who keeps everything in order. Vernon is the dealer who is slightly strange in his own way.

Performance wise, I don’t think anybody did a bad job everyone is good with the role they are in, with Copley getting most of the laughs with Sam Riley and Jack Reynor both doing well.

Story – The story is very thin here, we have two parties coming together for a gun deal, things go wrong and the rest of the film is spent watching how each has their own individual battle to survive, get the guns or money. I did like the concept but it is a lot of just crawling around with random shooting and nothing else happening.

Action/Comedy/Crime – The action is lots of just random shooting, with the comedy coming in places with certain characters coming off funny while others seem to be played straight, neither have the chemistry to work together. The crime side is the gun deal which is fine for the backdrop of this film.

Settings – The whole film is set in and around the warehouse, this is a good thing because the film does play out in real time, this is the strongest point within this film.

Final Thoughts – I liked the idea behind this film, I just feel the film doesn’t decide if it is going to be a comedy or a serious film, it gets completely stuck between the two and not enjoyable. I can see the directors style in here which I do respect but I am not the biggest fan off.

 

Overall: Strong idea but disappointing final product with all star cast.

Rating 4/10