Freerunner Review
Background Info
Sean Faris is no stranger to the action genre. He as starred in films like Never Back Down and King of Fighters, trying to justify his status as an action star. While neither film was groundbreaking, it didn’t stop director Lawrence Silverstein from casting him in his directorial debut. With freerunning becoming prominent in films like District B 13, would Freerunner be able to take the concept and do something special with it?
Story/Characters
The story for Freerunner has good intentions, putting participants in a race for their lives. It could have been a great way to showcase freerunning as well as develop a bond between the characters so that each death was a loss. Of course, that isn’t what happened. Smart viewers already know which two are going to make it to the end, and the writers didn’t bother letting us care for the others in the race. Sean Faris does all right as a lead, but there wasn’t really any character development to begin with. The relationship he has with his girlfriend doesn’t feel genuine, and he simply looks like the underdog that scraped by instead of the powerhouse he may have been portrayed as.
Another problem with the story is that it simply has too many plotholes in it. There will be several times where you sit in front of the screen wondering how something makes sense. The movie wants you to simply ignore these facts and enjoy the film, but I’m more of a viewer that enjoys the smaller details, making it hard to ignore some very big leaps in logic.
Action/Choreography
You know what made District B-13 so incredible? It was the fact that the guys they cast could actually do parkour. The guys in this movie…not so much. I’m sure there were a couple that were cast to showcase their skills, but you can’t see anything with all the shakiness that’s going on. I understand the “freerunner cam” has this effect, but when the cameraman seems to be panting behind the runners, I can’t see a thing. I know this is a common gripe of mine, but don’t assume that shaking the camera makes for “good action.” It doesn’t.
There is a little hand to hand combat sprinkled in, and it does better than the freerunning aspect. At least I can see the action, but then it’s pretty apparent that these guys don’t know how to fight. The choreography is pretty simple and the actions are performed pretty slowly, like it wouldn’t have hurt the ramp the speed up a little bit. Either way, neither aspect is jaw-dropping and you’ll forget you even saw it after a few days pass.
Own it, Watch it, or Skip it?
Freerunner tried to jump into the action genre with a unique concept, but it just doesn’t pan out. The runner’s don’t have enough charm for you to care about their life-and-death struggle and the story is so basic and illogical that most won’t be sucked into it. The action is basic and boring when you can see it, showing you that the cast isn’t up to the task at hand. There are better freerunning movies out there, it’s better to just ignore this one altogether.
Skip it
Freerunner US Version (Blu Ray)
