Freelance (2023)

​"Freelance" stars John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas, and Christian Slater. Released on October 27, 2023, the film has a former Special Forces operator protecting a journalist from a military coup.

The film was directed by Pierre Morel, who also directed films such as "District 13", "Taken", "The Gunman", and "Peppermint". Don't you hate it when you retire from the military only to get drawn back into the action you're trying to get away from? One former operative does, but hey, at least it'll make for some good old-fashioned entertainment for audiences. Today, I'm taking a small break from watching plenty of scary movies that October is known for in favor of John Cena kicking ass and delivering some chuckles. Chances are this is the first time you've heard of this latest action comedy from Pierre Morel, which happened to appear out of nowhere. If it is, now you know. I only heard of this movie from the trailer that came out a couple of months ago. Even though it doesn't look like it will revolutionize the standard action genre, it's one of those moments where I look at the concept and cast and say, "Eh, why not?". With that said, let's see if this action-packed venture is fun enough to come out of retirement.

The story follows Mason Pettits (Cena), a Special Forces operator who has retired from the army after a failed mission claimed the lives of his comrades. He's now a lawyer and a family man to his wife (Eve) and daughter. His retirement eventually ends when his boss (Slater) gives him one final mission to complete in exchange for cash. Mason is tasked to provide security for journalist Claire Wellington (Brie), who's assigned to travel to Paldonia to interview Juan Venegas (Raba), the country's president, who Mason believes is responsible for the deaths of his army buddies. Unfortunately, this easy task for Mason and Claire swiftly becomes a nightmare when a military coup ambushes the group, forcing them to retreat into the forest. Now on the run, Mason, Claire, and Juan must cooperate to survive the onslaught and each other. 

My experience with Morel's works is as tiny as a pistol. Out of the films he made before "Freelance", I've only seen "Taken" and "Peppermint", and of course, we all know which one is better in my eyes. "District 13" and "Taken" were considered strong starting points for Morel, with the latter being known for turning Liam Neeson into a bonafide action star. However, it became evident that the filmmaker struggled to recapture his early success with the rest of his films, including "Peppermint". Despite their action-packed moments, they don't stand out much from the action crowd plot-wise and quality-wise. So even though I wasn't expecting much out of "Freelance", I hoped it would have some redeeming qualities to make it watchable. Unfortunately, that isn't the case with this blundering mess of a movie.

Do you remember those lackluster 2000s action movies from WWE Studios that attempted (and failed) to transform the brand's biggest names in wrestling into action stars, mainly John Cena? Well, "Freelance" reminded me of those movies, and I'm not talking about it in a good way. The film's story is the usual by-the-numbers action scenario involving the retired yet skilled protagonist fighting through international territory while protecting important people around them. Amid this chaotic adventure, we see Mason attempting to come to terms with his past, which left him without a purpose. His mission to protect the president he blames for his failure led to him uncovering a conspiracy against Venegas and learning what it really means to have a purpose.

The movie should've benefited well from its portrayal of purpose and forgiveness to accompany Cena's presence and the action. Sadly, they were immensely overshadowed by its poorly-told narrative and Morel's direction, whose good intentions failed to outweigh its mediocre, direct-to-streaming quality. "Freelance" features the writing debut of television writer Jacob Lentz, known for writing several episodes of "Jimmy Kimmel Live", and based on what I've seen, it's easy to understand why. Lentz's script offers a mishmash of action-comedy cliches from the 2000s that lack the charm, humor, and explosive energy that made several of these films from previous years cheesy good fun. Of course, that includes the chemistry between its cast, which is filled with uninspired jokes and lazy dialogue that make talk show skits look like masterpieces by comparison. Not to mention, the characters have formulaic personalities that are neither charismatic nor rewarding. If Lentz is serious about continuing to write scripts for movies, I would sincerely advise him to learn from his mistakes and keep trying. Not every debut is going to be fantastic, and that's okay.

The same should be said about Pierre Morel, who went from directing a fairly entertaining Liam Neeson vehicle to helming something people would find in a $2 bin at a video store. If there's one good thing I can find from Morel's direction, it's the framing of the action scenes. "Freelance" has several sequences of violence that were nicely shot and edited to the point where I could actually see what was happening. However, despite its admirable framework, the action is as impactful as getting hit by a featherless pillow, and the stakes are constantly nonexistent. While it can be fun seeing John Cena beat up the military coup, it does very little to make the violence as entertaining as the star's presence. Morel's approach to the film's tone didn't help much either, as he failed to balance the comedy's light-heartedness with the action-packed vibes, resulting in a dull and uneven display of talented people looking for an easy paycheck.

Like Dwayne Johnson, John Cena usually carries his films with his charismatic presence and stunt work, even the mediocre ones like "Playing with Fire". However, "Freelance" should be considered an exception rather than a rule. I always enjoy Cena in anything he's in, but I can admit that his performance as Mason was one of the film's weakest points. It's not that he's terrible or anything. He was basically following the "action cliche protagonist" playbook like any other action star would, but without the charm and pizazz he's known for. Alison Brie and Christian Slater didn't fare any better either regarding their so-so performances as Claire and Mason's boss, respectively. The only actor that actually puts more effort into the movie's charisma than the rest is Juan Pablo Raba, known for his role as Gustavo Gaviria in the Netflix show, "Narcos". Despite the lack of memorable humor from him, I would credit Raba for doing what he could from its terrible script to portray Juan Venegas as a likable and charming president. Why can't the film center around him?

Overall, "Freelance" fails to protect the two genres from their demise, resulting in a derivative, unbalanced, and mind-numbingly stale duplication of better action comedies from years past. It's not without a couple of bright moments, including Juan Pablo Raba and its framework for the action scenes. Unfortunately, those things aren't enough to bypass its less-than-stellar quality and lazily bland approach to its seemingly fun concept. Regarding its weak cast, formulaic characters, lackluster screenplay, and subpar direction, this movie should've just stayed in retirement. It is a disappointedly low point for both John Cena and Pierre Morel, with the latter still affected by the bad luck falling upon him. If you like Cena in his previous films, I recommend you wait until it's available for free on streaming. Otherwise, you're better off watching Morel's earlier works.

F