Free Fire

Year: 2016
Genre: Action
Directed: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, Michael Smiley, Sam Riley, Babou Ceesay, Enzo Cilenti, Noah Taylor, Jack Reynor, Mark Monero, Patrick Bergin, Tom Davis
Production: A24

Good action is hard to come by these days. Not only because the pyrotechnics, stunt work, complex camera movements and the taxing physical toll on the actors is so extreme but because franchise filmmaking has made it so the genre has become one of expectation instead of creativity. We now expect buildings to explode, we now expect high-speed car chases, we now expect our heroes to subject themselves to increasingly difficult acrobatics for the sake of some nebulously described macguffin.

Oh don't worry, I'll get to this thing soon...

Yet if we take away everything that has just been described, what are we left with? Well unless you're a new Fast and Furious (2001-Present) movie, you should still be left with decent characters, organically suspenseful moments and a plot that more or less makes sense.

Such is the case with Free Fire, a film that needs none of that highfalutin' excess to give you your adrenaline fix. With its beyond simple setup - a gun deal goes bad between Boston gunrunners and the IRA; the movie tactically fills the screen with more than enough spent shells for popular audiences to enjoy. If your goal is to simply watch a movie and have a heck of a good time, Free Fire might just be your golden ticket.

The film's bare-bones approach to its action is encrusted in the movie's very DNA. The action takes place entirely in the confines of a dingy, dirty harbor-side factory with little more than a couple of flickering lights proving men used to make a living here. We meet our myriad of characters and are quickly and smartly filled in on their motivations and larger roles within the group dynamic. The sequences of events that build towards the actual "free fire" are so simple, primordial almost pathetic in a way.

The more fun it is for the audience to dissect I suppose. The busied flurry of bullets and characters writhing on the ground either in pain or looking for cover, works well against the constant antagonizing banter. There's a love triangle of sorts between IRA buyer Chris (Murphy), handler Justine (Larson) and dealer Vernon (Copley); a blood feud between rival henchmen Harry (Reynor) and Stevo (Riley), a pissing contest between the self-serious Frank (Smiley) and the quick-witted Ord (Hammer). And somewhere in the middle of it all, someone double-crosses everyone else by bringing additional snipers to the party.

Smiley, Reynor, Riley, Cilenti and Taylor all have the thankless job infusing Free Fire with 70's-style legitimacy while being obvious support characters. Between them they bring to mind the easy-going coolness of The Getaway (1972) and the underworld fecklessness of Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973). I'd argue that they, along with milquetoast "leads" Brie Larson and Cillian Murphy sell the innate unbelievably of standouts Sharlto Copley and Armie Hammer both of whom chew the scenery to play out diametrically opposed versions of "the last man standing." Copley plays it cowardly but endearing - Hammer: cucumber cool, like Steve McQueen with a pornstar beard. It's a fun mix.

Yet even with all these interesting and fun characters, Free Fire can't help but occasionally fumble - especially as bodies start to pile up. Extended periods of gun play and heads poking out to chant na-na-na-na-boo-boo, give way to characters struggling to move, stand or continue to shoot. People's eyesight begin to blur, their shooting becomes sloppier and those who survive til the third act eventually run out of ammo.

To offset this, the movie wisely prods the characters towards one another with the introduction of additional cannon-fodder and alternative escape routes. Because the film is more-or-less Group A vs. Group B, we not only bare witness to creative plan-making but we get to laugh as each group struggles to maintain discipline within their ranks. The pot may not be stirred enough but we can all take heart that it's being stirred at all.

Uggggghhh!!

To put it simply, Free Fire is a gas! It's a wildly entertaining action movie that purposely confounds expectations to bring you a stylish, popcorn-y pleaser with fun to spare. Let it be known that you don't need all the loud, dumb excess of recent blockbuster movies to make a good, solid shoot'em up. All you really need is an ensemble for great characters, snappy dialogue and a good setup. That and guns...lots and lots of guns.

Final Grade: B