“Brie Larson. Cillian Murphy. Armie Hammer. Sharlto Copley. Violence. Humor. Ineptitude. Where do I get tickets?
Maybe not so fast. Let’s back up. In this movie, the aforementioned cast and a few other friends attempt to sell each other guns in an old Boston warehouse in the 70’s. Something goes wrong, and everyone starts shooting everyone else. None of them are particularly bright, which exacerbates the situation.
On paper, it’s both intriguing and worrysome. Intriguing because it seemed to promise a good mix of humor and violence with a great cast. Worrysome because it can be tough to keep the audience’s attention on such a contained and simplistic story. Would it rely too much on action? Would the lack of plot be boring? What about the pacing?
It all ended up okay. Just okay. We could have used a little more humor. And yes the pace dragged a bit here and there. However, there were some moments with really cool camera work, and the playful tone worked. Copley was hilarious until he got annoying. Hammer was surprisingly funny. Larson is amazing in everything she does. Murphy wins MVP for me, or he would if he had more to do.
I think this is a good example of a Wait-For-Netflix movie. Ultimately I enjoyed it, but I don’t know that it’s really worth paying money for a short and simple film like this one. If you get distracted by your cats now and then, it’s not the end of the world. It doesn’t demand the attention that sitting in a theater provides.
Free Fire – \m/ \m/ \m/”