Free Fire

Standing out among 2016's selection of action films was Ben Wheatley's 1970s set Free Fire staring Cillian Murphy, Brie Larson, Armie Hammer and Sharlto Copley that saw an odd-ball group of characters get caught in an arms deal gone wrong. On one side we have the Irish buyers and then the slick American sellers led by a eccentric South African.

Wheatley keeps the premise simple and set around one location which must have been a challenge to prepare but it is handled very well and the film throws the audience straight in with a sharply written screenplay and witty characters that all add to the dark humour for what follows next. Free Fire is a film of two halves with the build-up to the chaos and then the fallout as everyone draws guns on each other, and I'd say this film is two thirds great.

Part of the appeal of Free Fire are the characters who are backed up with great performances across the board but particularly Copley who was cast at the last minute. The action itself is also a lot of fun but Wheatley wisely keeps the focus on the characters to keep things exciting. A film like this could be hard to separate it from all the other crime flicks but it's the characters and direction that help set it out from the rest of the crowd. Unfortunately it's that final third of the film where it starts to lose momentum but at 90 minutes, I can't accuse the film of taking too long.

There was just something missing to help keep the energy of the story going but I wouldn't say it's enough to damage an otherwise enjoyable experience. All in all, Free Fire is a lot of fun and makes for a healthy change in the action genre were most are sequels, remakes or just vehicles for its stars.