Free Fire (2017)

Written by EmkEyen on February 10, 2018

One of those films that becomes difficult in giving a fair judgement. On one hand, it is very engaging when the action is on. On the other hand, there are questions that arise when it is not.

The narrative is an uncomplicated stage play. The arcs come and go as expected and characters and plot details are re-/introduced accordingly. The characters have distinct roles and sides but little history more than what is immediately presented. The violence is grisly and more graphic than common in action movies but still glorified and not really a shocker in realism. It is still a suspense flick, so there is much crawling about after multiple gunshot wounds though there is the flesh wound in the arm that is a smart reverse take on seventies action movie tropes. The set and aesthetics are beautiful and so are the facial hairs. It is hard to not refer to Tarantino, but that is what you get when you do a retro gangster shoot out drama that drops pop cultural references. Thankfully it stays on a grounded level and does not try to be more clever than it is. Then again, there is not much development either but for the strenuous progressions of the positional wars of the battlefield.

There are other details that I will not mention for the sake of spoilers that I find worth discussion, which are not necessarily good or bad but they are still there.

In conclusion, I'd say it is a movie worth watching for the bullet ballet in itself. That is if you don't let the analysis get in the way.