One of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of the movie screenwriter is to insert elements into the plot that are based on currently popular trends in order to increase the buzz surrounding the flick and maximize box office or, in the case of direct to video offerings, DVD sales. In the case of the venerable action flick the source of such themes can come from a myriad of sources. Most commonly such factors as video games or even real life adventures can directly influence the particulars of a plot. In the case of the recent action packed movie ‘Freerunner’ the esoteric urban activity referred to as Parkour takes center stage in a fast paced movie that admittedly borrows heavily from several other classics of this type of movie to create something with at least a modicum of originality. For those that have not encountered the term Parkour it is a type of extreme sport that is typically executed in an urban environment. The participants called Traceurs are trained to move through their environment with incredible ease and a gracefulness that borders on formal choreography. I was originally developed by a French military officer after watch enemy combatants slip through a dense jungle with an efficiency of motion that puts many animals native to the setting to shame. Hubert Koundé took these fluid movements and adapted them to the urban surroundings. Watching an expert Traceurs at work the typically reaction is that somehow the normal rules governing the physical world have been suspended. The repel off walls, vault over obstacles and zoom through the tiniest of spaces with a fluidity of form that pushes the physical abilities of a human being to the absolute limit. It is akin to watching a ballet set in three dimensions where the stage has been expanding to encompass an entire cityscape. This is the gymnastics of nature replanted to a setting most of us take for granted. We look at an abandoned building or back ally and perceive an eyesore. The practitioner of Parkour sees in that same scene as a challenge to his ability. It presents an obstacle to conquer; a dangerously exciting playground. This is an extreme sport that turns the mundane into the extraordinary and it was only a matter of time before some filmmaker saw the potential this sport holds for a cinematic rendition.

The story, or more accurately what passes as a plot, centers on Ryan (Sean Faris) an ruggedly handsome an athletic young man who excels in Parkour or as it is less formally known within the context of the movie, freerunning. Her lives to leap and bound throughout the decaying city with amazing agility and great abandon. The only other concern in his life that intrudes and this endeavor is a rather admirable goal of wanting to save a sufficient sum of cash to relocate to the shore taking his girlfriend, Chelsea (Rebecca Da Costa) and elderly grandfather (Seymour Cassel) with him. This immediately gives the audience something to hang their emotions on. Ryan is about to undertake a course of action that superficially comes off as self centered and foolishly dangerous. Without a trusty, albeit rusty plot device the audience would find it almost impossible to accept the premise that is about to unfold. Speaking of which in action flick traditionally the story only has to serve a single, narrow purpose; to serve as a scaffold upon which to hang the requisite action sequences and afford the characters a flimsy motivation. For ‘Freerunner’ that structure in this instance is constructed by rummaging through previously used situations populating them with archetypes culled from numerous similar attempts. Basically the only way that Ryan can devise to obtain the necessary economic bolus is to agree to participate in an illegal extreme form of freeruning. Emerging as one of the most hated tropes of this time a group of bored, excessively wealthy with absolutely no concern for the common throng promote something that if survived would emilerate Ryan’s fiscal dilemma .

The antagonist here is a trope that has been increasingly vilified in the real world lately include the subject of major protests in cities around the globe; the exceptionally wealthy. In the context required here bored billionaires arrange for street running contests with deadly consequences using the fiscally strapped as pawns in their games. People are taken to one side of town and fitted with explosive collars that will explosively separate their head from their shoulders should any transgression of the rules be made. The object is simple enough, stay alive and reach the designated finishing point. Okay, there have been some reports of pitting the homeless against each other in bare knuckle fights but this is extreme and ridiculous. The sport for the privileged sadists that arrange for this game is internet betting and the course being completely covered by wireless video cameras to capture every moment.

For those that enjoy a horror slanted Sci-Fi this setup may seem oddly familiar. It is fundamentally the same as the 1987 classic ‘The Running Man’ featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Some variations have been instituted to update the presentation but the run for your life factor is still as strong as ever. After this entire premise does tap into a response genetically infused in the primitive limbic portion of our brain; fight or flight. Even removed to a vicarious level as is done here the result is still exciting. After all every action flick targets the armchair warrior looking for such a thrill once removed from actual participation. The urban landscape heightens the sense of recognition which increases the audiences’ emotional identification with the principle character. When combined with the incredible movements that define this extreme sport it makes for a rather effective pop corn flick that will add a bit of excitement to a Saturday evening. You will what percentage of the stunt work was really performed and how much was augmented in post production or received a hidden wire assist. The film purports to be entirely filmed as is and if that claim is true than you can’t find this level of gymnastics even with Olympic contenders.