FREE FIRE
Director: Ben Wheatley
imdb
FREE FIRE
Director: Ben Wheatley
imdb
This was okay. Good character work from all involved, though it does wear a little thin as it goes along, and the fact that it's not exactly shot all that interestingly can make it a bit of a drag as well. They really don't do that great a job establishing the layout of the location, so there's a lot of times where I honestly didn't know where everyone actually was in the room, let alone where they were in relation to one another. And there are also a number of scenes where it's shot in such a way that I flat out couldn't even tell what was going on. So that was a bit annoying, but not enough to really ruin the movie or anything. 'Cause the actors all do a hell of a job elevating the movie above these flaws and keep it entertaining enough throughout to give it a mild pass.
More of a pratfall physical comedy amidst a whirlwind of bullets than an outright action film, so the issue of spatial relation doesn't bother me that much. It's more about enjoying the absurd spinning, crawling, and evading, complete with constant quips, than getting an adrenaline rush from the shoot-outs. Moderately enjoyable, the pacing impressive for a running time with story this thin, the ymmv humor appealing to me, and the actors all having a fun time tearing into their roles (Copley tolerably hammy for once. MVP: Armie Hammer). Could have been even shorter though.
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
Yeah, I think each of the actors (especially Copley and Hammer, as previously mentioned, playing to the most refined version of their comic strengths I can recall) does a really solid job here, filling out their characters' personalities where the script may not. The pacing is very good for the first hour, but I think it starts to wear out its welcome and feel like slightly, unfortunately like a drag once the phone up the stairs comes into play. And then the ending shot and scene ends up surprisingly feeling like much of a shrug than it should, and seemingly sooner than it should arrive, considering its pace and the potential for more of a resolution.
But I still had a really good time with it when it was at its best, I just wish it stayed there more often.
*** / 6.8
Last 11 things I really enjoyed:
Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
Safe (Haynes, 1995)
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
Diva (Beineix, 1981)
Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)
Really fun movie. Unpretentious, uncomplicated, just plain well done.
I couldn't help but think about The Hateful Eight which, while very good, has a similar premise and doesn't completely justify its enormous running time.