Some of the recurring themes against which I fight as a Catholic film reviewer are the stereotypes that are used to portray the Fatih in movies.  Whether Catholicism is a major part of the story, or mentioned in passing, Hollywood relies on what everyone thinks they know about the world’s largest religion.  Today’s entry, Freelance (2023), falls in the latter of those two categories, meaning I will have to engineer a broader discussion later in this discussion.  For now, if you have the misfortune of seeing this flick, know that not all Jesuits are strict, and that to be one of our churches, you need a tabernacle.  Hopefully that is not the kind of cryptic-ness that gets you interested in the plot.

The first person we meet is Mason Pettits (John Cena), who is not a Freelance journalist, but rather a former United States (US) Army Special Forces operative.  He gets into that line of work because he has difficulty saying no to helping people.  However, as he grows up, his first idea to do so is to become lawyer.  Finding that the life he is about to enter to be dull, he enters the military.  Unfortunately, his career is cut short when he is helicoptering into the fictional South American country of Paldoñia to take down their infamous dictator, President Juan Venegas (Juan Pablo Raba).  A rocket propelled grenade (RPG) hits the tail of Mason’s chopper, causing him to fall and break his back.  While this did bring Mason a wife, Jenny Pettits (Alice Eve), and a daughter, Casey Petttits (Molly McCann), things he thought he wanted, he describes his existence as “soul crushing.”  All the same, when his former commanding officer and current head of a private security company, Sebastian Earle (Christian Slater), comes to Mason with a job, the veteran refuses.  Sebastian tries to sweeten the pot, saying that it will be easy work, guarding celebrity reporter Claire Wellington (Alison Brie).  However, the kicker is that the disgraced journalist will be interviewing President Venegas.  Returning to Paldoñia is low on Mason’s list of desirable destinations, but he agrees to do so out of loyalty to his old friend, Sebastian.  The timing becomes convenient, too, when he goes to pick Casey up from school and finds Jenny waiting as well.  Casey had gotten in trouble at school by following Mason’s advice for dealing with a bothersome boy in her class.  Between this outburst and Mason’s general malaise, Jenny says she is going to leave.  He is not happy about this development, but it does give him the opportunity to take Sebastian’s offer.  With that, he meets the rather demanding Claire and they fly a private plane to South America.  President Venegas is there to meet them at the airport, and they join his motor coach as they head to his private estate in the countryside for the meeting.  Along the way, in the middle of the jungle, they are ambushed by people apparently trying to assassinate President Venegas.  Once Mason recovers from the shock of the incident, he is put in the awkward position of also protecting the leader of a country of which he is not fond.  Nonetheless, he does his duty to Claire and they escape into the woods.  Using a satellite phone, Mason contacts Sebastian, who says he has rescue being organized and sent to Mason’s location.  Also, President Venegas contacts his nephew, Jorge Vásquez (Sebastián Eslava), to let his relative know that he is alive.  We see the look of panic on Jorge’s face, but the conversation is enough to convince President Venegas that the younger relation is behind the coup.  He is not the only one experiencing betrayal.  When their helicopter arrives, they open fire on Claire and Mason.  Once Mason takes care of that situation, they are reunited with President Venegas and they walk to his home village, conveniently nearby.  Not long after getting there, Claire gets her sit-down with President Venegas, in which he claims that the world is after him for his country’s newfound mineral wealth.  A little later, Mason is able to reestablish communication with Sebastian, who refutes any suggestion that he is behind what is happening.  Instead, he points to a South African mercenary named Colonel Jan Koehorst (Marton Csokas).  Colonel Koehorst has been hired by Jorge in order to get rid of President Venegas and let foreign companies come to Paldoñia and take advantage of the resources.  Further, they had expected Mason to assassinate President Venegas for them.  To solve this mess, Sebastian recommends killing President Venegas.  Before this can happen, Colonel Koehorst’s men arrive and once more Claire, Mason, and President Venegas have to escape, but this time Claire gets left behind in the chaos.  She has become important to President Venegas as his vehicle for telling the world that he is moving his country in a new direction.  Thus, Mason proposes a trade with Colonel Koehorst.  Of course, it turns out to be a bait and switch, with President Venegas bringing out his people with him, who overwhelm Colonel Koehorst’s men and allowing Mason to save Claire.  From there, it is on to the presidential palace where the final showdown takes place.  In the end, they are saved by the intervention of Sebastian’s team.  Finally, President Venegas announces he is renouncing his position so that there can be free elections.  Claire has her career renewed by getting this scoop, and Mason goes home to a forgiving Jenny.  A thankful President Venegas leaves one last present for Mason, who checks his bank account and finds over $5 million in it.

That President Venegas should be so generous at the end of Freelance is one half of the only surprise twist for me in the film.  I presumed that Sebastian would be the ultimate villain and the South American leader would remain the villain.  Of these, President Venegas is the more complex character, and the one on which I will focus my Catholic energies.  As a practitioner of the Faith, I try to avoid judging people too harshly, but his behavior does invite some thoughts.  For most of the movie, he seems far too comfortable wielding autocratic power.  As such, I found Claire’s description of her job being to hold power to account a significant one.  This is what Jesus did by His very existence, and anyone who calls themselves a Christian should remember this fact.  He did not associate Himself with the powerful, but rather the lowly and sinful of the world in order to call them to righteousness.  We see this transformation happen with President Venegas.  He goes from claiming that the people do not know what they want, to having those same people rally to his cause at the climactic moment.  For me, the moment that brings this all together is when him and Mason take refuge in a Catholic Church.  A stereotype that I did not mention in the introduction is how some see the Church as opulent and catering to the elite.  Like President Venegas walking with the poor, this is what Jesus did, and what His religion does to this day.

Still, this is not the day that I will be recommending Freelance to you.  I will say that it has a happier ending than a certain recent world event that bears a striking resemblance to this story.  Otherwise, you can keep the rest, particularly Claire, who basically flings herself at Mason.  Kudos to the married man for staying strong.