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Too much of everything

Instant Favorite.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

A sub mediocre movie directed by someone who probably thinks "Manchester by the sea" is an action packed experience and also did not spend more than a couple of hours in thinking the plot through. The wanna be racially/gender inclusive cast turns quickly into the predictable stereotyping one would expect. And the painfully unidimensional characters are as hard to watch as their poorly played accents are to stomach.

If that sounds like your cup of tea then go ahead and give this a watch, you'll find it highly amusing. An arms deal goes terribly awry when a small fist fight turns into a factory shootout where nobody can be trusted. Think of this as a modernisation of 'Reservoir Dogs'. All set in one location, various personalities and plenty of violent profanity. Each character has their own accent and personable traits to differentiate themselves. A sarcastic American, an eccentric South African, a stupid Englishman and many more. I had to adjust my hearing for each character, I got there eventually. The chaos starts from one punch and, much like a ticking time bomb, escalates the tension and frantic mayhem. Approximately seventy minutes (excluding the introduction) of gunfire, verbal abuse and crawling along the floor. Literally. Bang Bang Bang "You shot my suit!" Bang Bang "Your breath stinks and you have a serious case of BO!" Bang Bang Bang. It kept me amused...for the first forty five minutes. The problem with using the same scenario and not changing it up for an entire film, is that it becomes tedious rapidly. There's no twists or turns, just two sides of a bad arms deal shooting each other. Couldn't keep my attention the whole way through. The amusement comes from the humorous screenplay and dialogue execution. Copley, Hammer, Murphy, Larson and everyone else manage to perform their lines in perfect comedic timing. You shan't be rolling on the floor laughing, yet it's enough to make you chuckle and smile. Heck I did, and I'm dead inside. Wheatley's directing style was clean, even amidst the chaos he was able to keep the camera and ensure we could see everything. The story, or lack of, is predictable however the writing style and acting is enough to withstand ninety minutes of carnage. Do not take this film seriously, it's just light hearted fun. I think I've seen enough guns for one day. Oh, and it seems most of these weapons have unlimited ammunition! Small nitpick...

2018 is barely a week old, but I'm afraid I already stumbled upon the biggest disappointment of the year! Words literally fail to describe how incredibly dire and incompetent "Free Fire" is. Seriously, how is it possible that a film can superficially look so cool but then turn out to be so unbelievable irritable? In fact, the question "how is it possible" will form the red wire across this entire user comment. How is it possible that people are still imitating the success aspects of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" after more than twenty years? If there's one thing these movies have proven, it is that the combination of graphic violence and witty one-liners is rather unique and almost inimitable. Hundreds of rip-offs were unleashed, especially between 2000-2010, but none of them were truly worthwhile. Just when you think that nowadays aspiring directors are clever enough not to do so anymore, Ben Wheatley comes up with the most embarrassing rip-off of them all. How is it possible that I still have faith in Wheatley, anyway? Critics often label him as a multi-talented director, but this is the third letdown in a row after "High-Rise" and "Sightseers". I still want to see "Kill List", but if that's another disappointment, I'll never watch another Ben Wheatley film ever again. How is it possible that a film, which doesn't even have an actual script, is still so badly written? Simply put, "Free Fire" is set in 1978 and handles about an illegal weapon deal in an abandoned Boston warehouse between nervous IRA members and the gang of the sleazy and completely unreliable smuggler Vern. For the most banal reason imaginable, the already agitated situation goes awry and they all start shooting each other. How is it possible that anyone is still standing up after five minutes? Every single character gets shot, sometimes even in the head, but they all cheerfully continue reloading their arms and shouting idiotic stuff at each other. How is it possible that all these talented cast members got lured into this? "Free Fire" stars Cillian Murphy ("28 Days Later"), Sim Riley ("Control"), Brie Larson ("Room") and Armie Hammer ("The Lone Ranger"), but they don't immediately seem to realize they're stuck in the worst project of their careers. And then the most vital question of them all: how is it possible that a film that features constant gunfire and bullet-showers is so damn boring! Despite all the Mexican stand-offs, the enormous body count and the sly dialogs, "Free Fire" is BORING beyond belief. The only reason why I'm giving this a generous rating 2 out of ten, instead of the miserable rating 1 it really deserves, is because I was rejoiced to hear a couple of long-forgotten John Denver classics on the soundtrack.

Wheatley continues to underperform with this tedious piece of juvenilia. It's bereft of the insidious tension that made Kill List so gripping and sorely lacks the heart, humour and offbeat charm of Sightseers. All Free Fire has is an adolescent script and a slew of utterly hollow characters in 70s fancy dress. As other reviewers have commented - you wish they'd just hurry up and kill each other.