Freelance

Freelance is a 2023 American action comedy film directed by Pierre Morel and written by co-producer Jacob Lentz in his feature writing debut. It stars John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, and Christian Slater.
The film was released on October 27, 2023 by Relativity Media, to predominantly negative reception.
== Plot ==
Mason Pettits is a former U.S. Army Special Forces, who was injured and medically discharged after a failed mission to assassinate Paldonian dictator Juan Venegas. In present day Pettits is working as a lawyer, a job he despises. One day, Mason is approached by a former Army Special Forces team member, Sebastian Earle, who offers him a highly paid personal security job where he has to protect disgraced journalist Claire Wellington as she goes to Paldonia to interview Venegas. The mission upsets his wife Jenny, who doesn't want their daughter Casey to live without a father.
After arriving in Paldonia and meeting Venegas, they are ambushed by a group that tries to kill Venegas, destroying their cars in the process. Mason fights off the assailants and they escape into the jungle. Venegas deduces that the coup is led by his nephew Jorge, who hired Colonel Jan Koehorst to kill him. Mason tries to leave Venegas behind while bringing Claire with him, but the two are ambushed by more militants. Mason, with a little help from Venegas, fights them off, and the group arrives at a village where Venegas is highly respected.
Claire successfully films her interview with Venegas. While Mason bonds further with Claire, he is unable to start a relationship with her, remembering his family back home. The next day, Venegas hints at a real purpose for Mason's job - Mason calls Sebastian, who informs him that he was actually hired to kill Venegas. Suddenly, Jan and his militants arrive at the village and chase the group; Mason and Venegas manage to escape while Claire is captured.
While on the way to Paldonia's capital, Venegas reveals that he wasn't responsible for killing Mason's friends in the military. Later, the two stage a trade with Claire, while Venegas reveals that he paid for the revolution as propaganda. The next day, during said trade, Venegas brings the revolutionists to distract Jan as he, Mason, and Claire run to the palace. There, Venegas convinces Jorge to help him lead the country better, but the latter is killed when General Martínez conspiring with him tries to shoot Venegas.
Jan and his army arrive at the palace, and a shootout ensues between them and Venegas' bodyguards, during which Mason fights Jan alone. Jan reveals that he was responsible for killing Mason's crew. Claire, who films the battle, helps Mason defeat Jan. Afterwards, Sebastian and his team arrive and fight Jan's militants.
Some time later, Claire has regained fame for her footage in Paldonia, Venegas resigns from being dictator, and Mason reunites with his family before being gifted $5 million by Venegas. Now with a newfound purpose on his life, Mason decides to spend more time with his family.
== Cast ==
* John Cena as Mason Pettits
* Alison Brie as Claire Wellington
* Juan Pablo Raba as President Juan Venegas
* Christian Slater as Sebastian Earle
* Alice Eve as Jenny Pettits, Mason's wife
* Marton Csokas as Colonel Jan Koehorst
* Sebastián Eslava as Jorge Vásquez
== Production ==
Freelance is the feature writing debut of television screenwriter Jacob Lentz. The film was announced on October 6, 2021, with Pierre Morel directing and John Cena attached to star. The film was reported to have a budget of at least $40 million. In January 2022, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas, and Christian Slater joined the cast. Filming began in Colombia on January 17, 2022, with cinematographer Thierry Arbogast.
== Release ==
Freelance was released in theaters by Relativity Media on October 27, 2023. It was then released on premium video on demand on November 28, around a month later.
== Box office ==
Freelance made $880,000 from 2,057 theaters in its first day, and went on to debut to $2.1 million, finishing in seventh on its opening weekend.
== Reception ==
Upon release, Freelance was met with negative reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, 7% of 28 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Much like a real-life Freelance gig, this sodden action comedy offers no benefits." Metacritic assigned the film an average score of 24 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it an 58% overall positive score, with 27% saying they would definitely recommend the film.
== Videos ==
Freelance (2023) Official Trailer - John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater
Category:American films
Category:2023 films
Category:2023 in film
Category:2023 American films
Category:2020s films
Category:2020s American films
Category:AGC Studios films
Category:Relativity Media films
Category:English-language films
Category:Action films
Category:American action films
Category:2023 action films
Category:2023 American action films
Category:2020s action films
Category:2020s American action films
Category:Comedy films
Category:American comedy films
Category:2023 comedy films
Category:2023 American comedy films
Category:2020s comedy films
Category:2020s American comedy films
Category:Films directed by Pierre Morel
Category:Films shot in Colombia
Category:Action comedy films
Category:Films starring John Cena
Category:Films starring Alison Brie
Category:Films starring Christian Slater
Category:Films starring Juan Pablo Raba
Category:Films starring Alice Eve
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