Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Lifeless, insulting action comedy has violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Freelance
What's the Story?
In FREELANCE, former Army Special Forces soldier Mason Pettits (John Cena) finds himself unfulfilled, working as a lawyer and living in the suburbs with his wife (Alice Eve) and daughter. Then an old pal (Christian Slater) comes calling with a job offer: working as security for journalist Claire Wellington (Alison Brie). She's been granted an exclusive interview with Juan Venegas (Juan Pablo Raba), the controversial, dictatorial president of the (fictional) country of Paldonia. Not long after arriving, there's an attempt at a coup, and Mason finds himself on the run not only with Claire, but with Venegas, too. He quickly discovers that, in politics, as in life, things aren't always as they seem.
Is It Any Good?
This lifeless, generic, confusing, unfunny mess is so glaringly out of touch with reality that it makes your head hurt. First off, the casting in Freelance seems all wrong. Cena plays the uptight character and Brie the carefree one, when the actors' strengths might have been better showcased if those roles were reversed. (See Cena in Fast X and Brie in GLOW.) As it is, Brie, in addition to Eve (as Mason's wife), has so little to do that it's almost misogynist. Is there anything less cinematic than Brie's character live-streaming the coup by standing on the sidelines and holding up a phone? Worse, the movie doesn't even seem to know what it's actually about. There's no romance between the two leads, and the movie's politics are so tangled that, by the end, you still don't know whether Venegas is a lying dictator or a benevolent leader. Moreover, Mason spends the movie looking for his "purpose" and announces that he's found it only after discovering a large deposit in his bank account. (His purpose is money?) Freelance is one of those movies in which the most pressing question is: How was this ever made?
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Freelance's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How is sex depicted in the movie? Is it taken seriously? Laughed at? What values are suggested?
How are the movie's Latino (or Latino-presenting) characters portrayed? Do they have agency? Did you notice any stereotypes in the way they're depicted?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 27, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : November 28, 2023
- Cast : John Cena , Alison Brie , Juan Pablo Raba
- Director : Pierre Morel
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Relativity Media
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : Adventures
- Run time : 109 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and language
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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