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Freelance was directed by Pierre Morel, written by Jacob Lentz, and stars John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Marton Csokas, Christian Slater, and Alice Eve. It follows a bodyguard and a journalist as they escort a dictator out of his native country when a coup topples the latter’s regime, and the former’s interview plans.

The Plot: Lentz, a longtime writer for Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show, has a prime opportunity to rib on the extraction plot blueprint that the action genre has all but run into the ground. However, his inexperience with screenwriting and comedic talents befitting Jimmy Kimmel stop any interest before it starts.

After suffering an injury while on a mission to eliminate the dictator of a foreign nation, ex-special operator Mason (Cena) has returned to domestic life. Presented with field a job by his old boss Sebastian (Slater), he quickly says goodbye to his wife Jenny (Eve, wasted in a thankless part) and joins journalist Claire (Brie) as a bodyguard during her trip to Paldonia to interview President Venegas (Raba). Freelance establishes its basic premise quickly, moving onto a coup by Colonel Koehorst (Csokas), which forces the Americans to flee with the dictator – who happens to be Mason’s target from years ago.

It’d be fine to stick with a B-plot of simmering relations, but the script endeavors to make the politics of the fictitious country into the primary focus. None of it is particularly interesting or incisive, but Morel doesn’t have much else to work with aside from getting the main trio to safe harbor, narratively speaking. For the most part, Freelance spins its wheels, with the primary chase plot bereft of any original escape methods or engaging diversions. It’s hard to care about tinpot politics in a real life South American country, and it’s an even harder sell here, but that’s all the movie has as far as plot goes.

The Characters: In the script’s quest to give its leads some kind of arc, it forgoes setup, leaving the audience with blank characters that don’t change as people by movie’s end, even when they should, because no one is especially likeable.

Mason’s past is glazed over in the opening credits, leaving little to latch onto as far as a personality goes. He was aimless for a chunk of his life, opting to try his hand in the military, only for his back to be injured (this may as well not be mentioned, because it never hinders him) and his career to be stunted. Since then, he went to law school and made a family, which doesn’t sit right with him for unexplained reasons. He isn’t fleshed out, making the decision to brush characterization under the rug a weird one. Despite Cena’s admirable efforts, Mason isn’t an endearing deadbeat.

Claire is introduced as a grating personality, and she stays a grating personality for the entirety of Freelance. A once renowned journalist, she’s been exiled by the media for making up sources and publishing worthless papers (a practice that hasn’t been frowned upon for at least 20 years), forcing her to take a risk in an unstable country to regain her marketability. She treats Mason like dirt, and Lentz never puts in the work to redeem her. An attempt at seducing her married security doesn’t add up either.

Both of the political forces are cartoonish characters. President Venegas resembles a bad parody of a Far Cry villain equipped with a blatant facade of benevolence, a generic silver tongue, and predictable outbursts of eccentricity that are all supposed to be endearing but feel cynical. Koehorst is a South African mercenary working for a shady third party that doesn’t get any real personality, flamboyant or otherwise. Between the leading pair lacking chemistry and side characters’ safely written quirkiness, there’s no one worth paying attention to here.

The Action: Director Morel started strong but hasn’t made an action movie – or even an action setpiece worth remembering in over a decade. Freelance won’t do much to win back old fans or gain new ones, as its action is sparse and entirely forgettable.

It takes about 30 minutes for any fighting to occur, and while the first action beat comes out of nowhere in an enjoyable fashion, it quite literally doesn’t go anywhere either. Venegas’s men try to kill him during a bridge crossing, which locks the main characters in place, forcing Mason to take control of their vehicle and drive forward and backward a few times over until all the would-be assassins are dead. It’s short, and not played for laughs despite the repetition, and that leaves it more draining than exhilarating.

Bits and pieces of peril pop up between the assassination attempt and the finale, but they’re inconsequential to the proceedings and disinterestedly staged. A foot chase following Mason and Claire as they evade a chopper firing rockets at them has some explosions and energy, and there’s a horseback chase in a village that the trio take temporary residence in, but there’s no memorable camerawork, stunts, or choreography to speak of. These are only present to tide the audience over until the final act.

Chaos is embraced at the movie’s denouement, with the protagonists, alongside Venegas’s supporters and personal guard, fighting Koehorst’s forces inside the president’s home. It should be a bigger deal than it’s shown as, with stakes remaining low and little clarity or style beyond the bare minimum of shot-reverse-shot gunfights. At least ends the conflict, as the action wasn’t worth watching in the leadup.

The Technics: With a hefty $40 million budget, an experienced director, and talented ensemble, Freelance should be a lot snappier and more proficient than it is. Competence remains, but it’s a listless product.

Pacing is a killer here, with Lentz’s humor and supposedly insightful and/or entertaining geopolitics butting into frame when an action/comedy should be gaining or maintaining momentum. There isn’t a long runtime to sit through, but the empty and predictable screenplay paired with editor Chris Tonick’s refusal to trim the fat makes the feature feel like it goes on for several hours.

Visually, there’s nothing special here. Columbia should be enticing eye candy, but plenty of other movies in topographically and environmentally similar locations have gotten more out of their settings. Bland cinematography from Thierry Arbogast, a flat lighting style, subpar CGI, and one of the most obvious uses of green screen this year compound the issues. Without a consistently funny script (I chuckled twice throughout the whole movie), the whole feature is a “nothing” experience.

Freelance squanders its cast and its cash on a terribly generic script, action, and technical merits. In better hands, it might’ve been a freewheeling, 80s-esque romp, but as it stands, that’s a far-off possibility.

32/100