A gun deal goes horribly off the rails in Free Fire.
Don’t you just love deep, immersive plots and dramatic tension that slowly builds over the course of a carefully orchestrated opus? Yeah, this is not that film; it’s Mozart on meth. Take the coolness of Reservoir Dogs , the carnage of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and the energy of a coked-up, horny terrier. Now you’re getting the picture. It’s a 90-minute roller coaster powered by pure adrenaline.
The film takes standard storytelling conventions and ignores them entirely. It fills in the blanks with fabulously vibrant, full-color characters of every size, shape and style. It’s like watching a superhero movie with unfamiliar characters. Everyone can find a favorite to root for. The main culprits include the suave sophisticate (Armie Hammer); the no-nonsense, grizzled old hand (Michael Smiley); the street-smart Irish soldier (Cillian Murphy); the girl who seems to know everyone a little too well (Brie Larson); and the outrageously exuberant arms dealer (Sharlto Copley).
What little plot there is flows out of each character in brilliantly witty trash talk flawlessly timed for maximum effect. Even the music plays by its own rules, with a classic John Denver love ballad somehow becoming the perfect melody for a firefight.
This irreverent comedy packs more than enough ammo to keep you ducking for the duration.
