Film Review: Free Fire

"I Forgot Whose Side I'm On..!"

With the release of High Rise last year, director Ben Wheatley has seemingly finally shot into the limelight of the widespread cinematic spotlight after years of being at the helm of some truly superb movies such as Sightseers and Kill List without breaking away from the eyes of the critical minorities and into the mindset of the average cinema-going mortal. Alongside taking the time to tackle the first two episodes of Peter Capaldi's reign as the Twelfth Doctor, Wheatley's contribution to the medium of escapist entertainment is a modern-day necessity, with his successful partnership with wife and screenwriter Amy Jump resulting in Wheatley arguably being the most interesting and dependable British director at this moment in time. With his latest release, Free Fire, Wheatley takes full advantage of his rising reputation with a superbly managed cast, including District 9 star Sharlto Copley, Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Brie Larson and constant Wheatley contributor, Michael Smiley, all of whom are squeezed within the confines of a narrative which nods at a wide range of movies from Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs to the jet-black violence of Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers, resulting in a laugh-out-loud and highly quotable piece of cinema from a director who clearly knows what it takes to have a good time at the cinema. 

Revolving wholly around a weapons deal gone south, Free Fire relies primarily on the black-hole comedic tropes fans of Ben Wheatley have come to learn of and love ever since his early days with Down Terrace and continuing throughout into Sightseers and last year's High Rise, with the blunt of the jokes seeped in B-Movie splatter alongside the embarrassing feeling of laughing at the levels of pain and suffering our on-screen criminals are put through throughout the course of a delightful 90 minute runtime. With a cast as vast as Free Fire's, the inevitably of feeling a utter lacking in terms of character development was indeed strictly adhered to, with Wheatley determined to throw in as many bullets and bruises as possible in order to keep the constant flow of enjoyment from ever dipping below the level the majority of the film sticks to from start to finish. Whilst this isn't strictly the case, with the movie's appeal starting to fade come just over the hour mark, Free Fire is one of the most enjoyable times I've had at the cinema so far this year, solidifying the notion that whether it's horror, socialite dramas or action, Ben Wheatley has the ability to do it all. On to the next one. 

Overall Score: 8/10