Trailer: Free Fire (2017)

The Toronto Film Festival have had the pleasure in watching Manly Movie ‘Free Fire’ before anyone else, those being us and in 2017.

Directed by Brit Ben Wheatley (‘High-Rise’, ‘Kill List’, ‘Sight Seers’ and written by him and his wife and regular screenwriting partner-in-crime Amy Jump.

Wheatley does indeed like and do the quirky very well and ‘Free Fire’ certainly fits that mould. The movie is set in Boston in 1978 where two rival gangs meet in an abandoned warehouse. A deal turns sour and lo and behold, gun go a blazing. With a stella cast including Oscar winner Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley (as a last-minute casting replacement), Cillian Murphy, Armie Hammer, Patrick Bergin and Michael Smiley. Despite being set in Boston, the film was actually filmed in Brighton, in the UK and with old-school, stunt-co-ordinator, Peter Pedrero (From Van Damme’s Epic Split Volvo ad, the Harry Potters, The Bourne Legacy to countless others) directing a great deal of the action.

The trailer does give a great deal away in terms of action, but it’s also a  good insight into what to expect; craziness. You get a Reservoir Dogs vibe about it and the film school teacher, Dov SS Simens catchphrase rings true here: Get a bunch of actors, put ’em in a room and chop ’em up.

Definitely earmark this as a one-to-watch for 2017. I’m sure Wheatley will be offered something actiony to take on by Warners in the future as this seems like a calling card if ever there was one, and stunt coordinator, Pedrero, is hotly tipped to helm violent action spy thriller ‘Daisy Scarlett’, being pitched as a ‘female Bourne / Bond’.

Word from Toronto is a good one.