Garena Free Fire, or Free Fire for short, is a famous mobile game which rises to the most popular game in India in 2021 as well as the third most downloaded game in the world in April. The developer released its beta version on 30 September 2017, but one year before this moment, a movie named Free Fire premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Did this Free Fire movie actually inspire the devs at Garena to create Free Fire game? Let's find your answer below!

Brie Larson At Free Fire Premiere
Superstar Brie Larson at the premiere of Free Fire movie in 2017

Free Fire movie release date

Free Fire, a black comedy-action movie, was directed by the British filmmaker Ben Wheatley. In fact, Free Fire movie was released the very first time on 8 September 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival. However, it’s not until 31 March 2017 that this movie reached its cinema audience in the United Kingdom.

Despite its famous cast, Free Fire was a flop at the box office, grossing only $3.8 million against its initial $7 million budget.

Free Fire movie cast

The action movie Free Fire in 2016 gathers a number of young talented cast in lead roles.

To be specific, Cillian Murphy takes the role of Chris, a member of Irish Republican Army who sought to end the British rule in Northern Ireland. Before Free Fire, Murphy succeeded in various movies such as The Dark Knight Trilogy or Inception. He also got a nomination at Golden Globe Award for the role of a trans-woman in Pluto.

Cillian Murphy In Free Fire
Cillian Murphy In Free Fire

Brie Larson, whose success associates with Captain Marvel and Avengers series, also participated in Free Fire movie as Justine. Justine is an intermediary of the IRA organization and the arms dealer.

Brie Larson
The reputation of Brie Larson couldn't help Free Fire to attract more audience.

For your information, Brie Larson was already famous when filming Free Fire. She won an Oscars award for Best Actress in the movie Room in 2015 and had succeeded in various lead roles in other films. However, her reputation didn’t help Free Fire movie to become a blockbuster.

Other actors that took important roles in Free Fire are Armie Hammer (as Ord, an IRA member), Sharlto Copley (as Vernon, an arms dealer), and Jack Reynor (as Harry, Vernon’s associate).

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Free Fire movie plot

At the beginning of the film, two groups, IRA and arms dealer, arranged a meeting at a Boston warehouse to discuss their deal via an intermediary Justine. Representatives from the gun dealer group included Vernon and Harry while the IRA sent Chris, Ord and some others to the appointment.

Free Fire Movie Plot
The story took place at a warehouse in Boston.

Conflicts appeared when one of IRA members realized Harry beat him some days before. Tension increased and the two groups started shooting each other. Amid the chaotic scene, there were two men who attempted to kill both groups. It turned out someone also hired Ord to take all the money from the deal and kill all other members of both sides.

Before a traitor revealed the secret behind the mass killing, the IRA group accidentally shot him dead. What happened next was exactly free fire when everyone tried to save their life by firing at others. At the end of Free Fire movie, Justine appeared to be the only survivor and limped to the warehouse entrance. However, she heard the sounds of sirens approaching closer and closer. That’s when she realized she couldn’t escape either.

Did Free Fire movie inspire Garena Free Fire?

If you notice, both Garena Free Fire and this Free Fire movie follow the concept of last-man-standing plot. In Free Fire game, you have to fight against 49 other players to be the only survivor in the end. In the movie, Justine killed all men at the warehouse to run away with the money.

Free Fire Garena
Garena Free Fire has the same format as the movie of the same name.

The 2016 film also features bloody scenes with shooting and fire. The entire movie does not focus on anything other than the fights among people themselves. Each person has their own skill and a background story as well, just like Free Fire characters in the game.

Free Fire Movie Poster
This poster of Free Fire pretty much resembles the battle royale title.

However, it’s unfair to say Free Fire movie inspired Garena Free Fire as before this movie, there were a lot of video games of last man standing format. For example, the first LMS game was recognized as the action game Bomberman in 1983.

What about the identical title of the game and movie? In fact, different products could have the same title without infringing the copyright laws. A dev at Garena could be a fan of Free Fire movie and suggested the name to his boss? Maybe. But the phrase Free Fire is not a rare expression when it comes to shooting scenes.

Verdict

All things considered, GuruGamer thinks that Free Fire movie has little thing to do with Garena Free Fire. If you have watched Free Fire and like it, you probably love playing the battle royale game from Garena and vice versa. Anyway, it’s interesting to know there is a movie named Free Fire in real life.

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