Sunday, April 30, 2017

Free Fire

Boston, 1978.  Stevo and Bernie are driving an RV, heading toward a gun buy.  Bernie asks about Stevo's black eye and Stevo says the guy who gave it to him is dead should they ever meet again.  Meanwhile, Chris (Cillian Murphy) flirts with Justine (Brie Larson) while Frank (Michael Smiley) curses about Stevo and Bernie being late.  When Stevo and Bernie arrive, Ord (Armie Hammer) emerges from the darkness and searches all present for wires.  Satisfied, he leads them into an abandoned warehouse to meet Vernon the Gun Dealer (Sharlto Copley) and his 'associate,' Martin (Babou Ceesay).  There are minor hiccups but the deal looks to go smoothly until Harry and Gordon bring in the rest of the guns.  Harry is the one who gave Stevo the black eye!  The confrontation soon escalates to gunfire.
 
The setup is just an excuse to launch the gunfight.  Everyone gets shot, usually multiple times.  There is so much shooting that one wonders how much ammunition all of these characters had in their pockets.  It is also surprising how badly these people shoot.  Most characters are wounded badly enough that they can only drag themselves along the floor but not so badly that they bleed to death.  It amounts to a bunch of incompetent gunmen who are too stupid to runaway and too unskilled to win the fight.  Added to this, everyone is a bad guy.  Some are charming bad guys or funny bad guys but they are all bad guys and deserve their fates.
 
Sharlto Copley was the most entertaining character with lots of great lines.  He shows pride is his blue suit only to have it ruined bit by bit.  He's a bumpkin of an arms dealer and one wonders if this is perhaps his first gun deal.  Armie Hammer is clearly the most competent person and spends a great deal of time shaking his head at the incompetence of those around him.  His easy-going manner and snarky wit make him a fun character.
 
Mediocre.

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