12 Critical Responses To 2017 Films That Make No Sense

6. Free Fire

Thor Ragnarok Wampa
StudioCanal UK

The Film:

Ben Wheatley's latest film depicts a feature-length shootout in a Boston warehouse after a weapons deal goes wrong.

The Response:

Reviews from both critics and audiences were mixed but overall positive and praised the film as a fun genre movie.

Why They Got It Wrong:

This is a terrible movie. In fact, it's the worst film on this list and yet it somehow scored 64% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Free Fire is very occasionally fun, but largely comes down to a bunch of under-used actors crawling around a warehouse and shooting at each other. As a result, it feels too long at only 90 minutes and none of the talented cast, save for the ever-reliable Sharlto Copley, get anything to do. Even Ben Wheatley lets the side down with his messy, confusing direction.

As much as you'll want to like a film which had so much potential, you'll find that a very difficult task. Unlikable characters, incoherent editing and uneven scripting make this pretty much impossible to get into. That this movie was seen as a success despite all these blatantly obvious flaws is truly baffling.

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.