Although I'm not a big fan of movies toplining Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, "Freelancers" qualifies as an above-average, but formulaic crooked cop melodrama. Basically, director Jessy Terrero's thriller aspires to be "Training Day" multiplied by three. Robert De Niro, Forrest Whitaker, Dana Delany, Vinnie Jones, and Pedro Armendáriz Jr., co-star and provide a semblance of gravitas. Before its 96 minutes elapses, this amoral, complicated chronicle takes some sordid turns with one of the three biting the dust and "50 Cent" getting his hands dirty along the way. "50 Cent" casts himself as the son of a murdered N.Y.P.D. Detective Daniel Maldonado (Andre Royo of "Red Tails") who died in an explosion before his eyes. Talk about a traumatic experience to live down! Eventually, the fatherless Maldonado ("50 Cent") and his two chums, A.D. (Malcolm Goodwin of "Leatherheads") and Lucas (Ryan O'Nan of "Eat, Pray, Love"), wind up behind bars as adolescents but they are released.
Years afterward, an official, Lydia Vecchio (Dana Delany of "Tombstone") makes it possible to the trio to enter the Police Academy. No sooner have the threesome graduated than Malo finds himself up to his ears in police corruption with Captain Joe Sarcone (Robert De Niro of "Midnight Run") collecting payoffs and scamming criminals. Things turn sour quickly for our single black hero and his one white buddy Lucas goes berserk with his new-found power as a cop. The three of them learn about life as it is when Sarcone dispatches them to deal with a tough guy named Sully (Vinnie Jones of "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels"), but he doesn't get much screen time. He informs our heroic trio about Sarcone's boss, Gabriel Baez (Pedro Armendáriz Jr. of "License to Kill"), who have been importing product into the Big Apple for 20 years. The farther that they go, the deeper our heroes find themselves in the shadow of the proverbial 8-ball. Happily, "Freelancers" doesn't wear out its welcome. Nothing in it is particularly original, but Terrero generates some suspense. He also tosses in a surprise or two. The stand-off scene is top-notch with the men in blue intervening in a showdown between gang bangers. As the chief protagonist, "50 Cent" generates little charisma as the son of the slain detective. De Niro is appropriately slimy, and Whitaker is believably belligerent. Delany has fewer than five scenes and Jones isn't give enough time to make a solid impression.
Interestingly enough, "Freelancers" was lensed on location in Louisiana!
Years afterward, an official, Lydia Vecchio (Dana Delany of "Tombstone") makes it possible to the trio to enter the Police Academy. No sooner have the threesome graduated than Malo finds himself up to his ears in police corruption with Captain Joe Sarcone (Robert De Niro of "Midnight Run") collecting payoffs and scamming criminals. Things turn sour quickly for our single black hero and his one white buddy Lucas goes berserk with his new-found power as a cop. The three of them learn about life as it is when Sarcone dispatches them to deal with a tough guy named Sully (Vinnie Jones of "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels"), but he doesn't get much screen time. He informs our heroic trio about Sarcone's boss, Gabriel Baez (Pedro Armendáriz Jr. of "License to Kill"), who have been importing product into the Big Apple for 20 years. The farther that they go, the deeper our heroes find themselves in the shadow of the proverbial 8-ball. Happily, "Freelancers" doesn't wear out its welcome. Nothing in it is particularly original, but Terrero generates some suspense. He also tosses in a surprise or two. The stand-off scene is top-notch with the men in blue intervening in a showdown between gang bangers. As the chief protagonist, "50 Cent" generates little charisma as the son of the slain detective. De Niro is appropriately slimy, and Whitaker is believably belligerent. Delany has fewer than five scenes and Jones isn't give enough time to make a solid impression.
Interestingly enough, "Freelancers" was lensed on location in Louisiana!