Free Fire with bullets taking centre stage

So, Channel Four leave it until Easter weekend to bring out the mad feature, Free Fire – a film so strewn with shooting that it could have been sponsored by the NRA. Fittingly then this bring and buy sale for guns, goes wrong and mayhem ensues.

Set in Boston (not Lincolnshire), the story goes that two opposing gangs – one selling guns, the other buying  – meet in a deserted warehouse, brokered by the miscast Armie Hammer. There, the South African seller – a stereotypical middleman, and a faction of Irish -IRA sympathisers do the deal.  Let’s just say it gets out of hand and the shooting overwhelms the last hour of the film.

This is a nasty firing-fuelled orgy of action where the best-supporting action will be a handgun and whilst the plot was interesting – the shooting proved too confusing. At first, it was simple to spot who was shooting who but amid the gunfire then it all got a bit distracting as allegiances changed and villains had impromptu conversations.
I’ve never been in a gunfight or been shot but it seems bullet to the body will not kill you but just harm you enough to keep on shooting until the end credits roll.
I would not put people off from seeing this film as there was much to admire about the concept. It was mostly set in a single building, and there was never going to be much emphasis on the dialogue. You’ve probably guessed it that there are a few casualties as the film progresses but it is a film where I can say this is overshot with Bullets.
I must say the pairing of Ben Wheatley and his wife, Amy Jump, are going places. This could have been a disaster but the casting, apart from Hammer, carried the film from plot to grave and because of the way the characters are introduced to audiences then there’s some understanding of where they were in the film and the role they play. So, take out the shooting (which is a considerable portion of the film) and this is a fine thriller. The one-dimensional aspect of the gun-ho bursts outlook always gave the film a block – as if it got in the way of what could have been a much better viewing experience yet without the shooting this could not have been the film they set out to make. I will give this 6/10.