When a down-on-his-luck lawyer, Mason (John Cena), gets a call from an old military friend, he is thrown back into action with a Freelance private security job. Tasked with protecting journalist Claire Wellington (Alison Brie) as she prepares to interview a dictator, he finds himself in a precarious situation, one that will test his resilience.
This has to be said: Freelance was a complete snooze fest. I’m not sure that anything worked in this film, and from the opening moments of the action comedy, it fails to deliver as promised.
Cena has proven himself time and time again, both in comedies and action films–and rarely does he struggle to pull his own weight. Similarly, Brie delivers time and time again in her films. However, for some reason, neither actor was able to deliver comedy in the right way, with jokes constantly falling flat and failing to appeal to viewers. Freelance, a film that was trying to be funny, never lands a joke–and the film falls apart as a result.
Part of the issue of the failing comedy comes as a result of the score. The score never matches the tone of the film, and it dilutes important moments throughout. It steals from the comedy, it lightens the mood in moments of intensity, and, time and time again, it fails to support Freelance. The film struggles on so many levels, but I kept coming back to the score, to the inability of Elliot Leung and Geoff Zanelli to create something that resonates with viewers or does anything to support Director Pierre Morel’s film. With such a glaring issue present throughout the course of Freelance, the film can’t ever find its footing.
There is one instance in which the film has a chance to flourish, and it has to use sex in order to become relevant. In one incredibly intense moment of lust and sensuality, both Brie and Cena find themselves attempting to titillate viewers. They are successful, but this scene ultimately has no bearing on the overall film. With that bit of knowledge, it feels like this part of Freelance is a last-ditch effort to appeal to viewers; and, while viewers will find this part of the film appealing, it’s not enough to save the film.
Freelance is a dud, one of the most frustrating attempts at comedy that I’ve seen in a long time. Again and again Cena and Brie struggle to deliver comedy, the score fails to support them, and Morel and Writer Jacob Lentz can’t muster up enough sexual content to save this disaster. With the exception of thirty seconds of average cinematography at the start of Freelance, this film has no redeeming qualities, and this was ultimately two hours wasted in a movie theater.
Directed by Pierre Morel.
Written by Jacob Lentz.
Starring John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater, Marton Csokas, Alice Eve, Molly McCann, etc.
⭐⭐⭐/10
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