Shawn Levy‘s world-building and the best performance by Ryan Reynolds since the first Deadpool film allows Free Guy to pop. The story of an NPC suddenly being able to control his destiny is a great fit for Reynolds.
There are a few touches that are reminiscent of The Truman Show. One key difference is the decision to let Guy in on what is going on pretty early on in the film. Levy and the screenwriters do an excellent job of keeping Guy in the dark just long enough to understand the world as is, the way the game works for players and how Guy is altering the very nature of the game. Once Guy finds out his true identity, then Free Guy begins to carve out an identity all its own.
In a surprising move, a lot of the story takes place outside of the game world. There’s an interesting story on the ownership of IP that’s touched in Free Guy. The friendship with potential for something more between Keys and Millie is the sweet topping to this rather wholesome dessert.
Surrounding Reynolds is a fantastic cast working off a terrific script by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn. Jodie Comer is exquisite in the real world as Millie and in-game as Molotov Girl. Joe Keery nearly steals the film as Keys. A former independent video game developer who is forced to work under the egomaniacal Antoine. It should come as no surprise, but Taika Waititi is perfect as the supremely evil Antoine.
There is a multitude of fantastic cameos and homages to video games and films. All of them are spread out well and given their time to shine.
The only issue I have with Free Guy is the use of real-life streamers. When the film uses actors as streamers, it works to a wonderful comedic effect. However, the use of streamers like Pokimane and Ninja definitely took me out of the film. The performances of Reynolds, Comer, Keery and Waititi easily brought me right back into this world.
With the overview out of the way, let’s delve deeper into this new world. Warning: Some minor spoilers may follow. Free Guy is in theaters.
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The Life of an NPC
Guy’s life follows a simple routine. He wakes up, says hi to his goldfish, gets his usual coffee and goes to work. He’s a bank teller that happens to get robbed on a daily basis. Guy’s best friend is Buddy played by Lil Rel Howery. Buddy is happy doing the same thing every day. Guy wants more out of life.
A Molotov concoction makes those aspirations a reality. Guy recognizes Molotov Girl for some reason and simply can’t get his mind off of her. She believes Guy is playing the game just like she is and blows him off.
Guy wakes up the next day. He tries to make a small change to his routine, then reverts back to his schedule when everyone else behaves in a strange manner. After that uneventful day, he makes a drastic change, that changes his outlook and the world around him.
Levy does a fantastic job of maintaining energy in every scene. There’s always something interesting going on in the background, but Levy never loses sight of performances by Reynolds, Comer or the rest of the cast.
A Whole New World for Guy
Guy is able to see the game world around him thanks to some special glasses. His main driving force is on finding Molotov Girl. She keeps her distance by telling Guy he is nowhere near her level.
Most players in the game succeed by killing, robbing or fighting each other. Guy takes a different approach. He rapidly increases his level by doing heroic acts. Guy prevents bank robberies, saves NPC children from oncoming traffic and more.
Eventually, Guy is able to gain Molotov Girl’s trust and they team up. They both begin to fall for each other as they seem to enjoy the same things. Molotov Girl still believes Guy is a real person. When she learns the truth, Comer’s combination of attraction and revulsion is great as is Keery’s reaction to this discovery.
The script does a fantastic job of using video game aesthetics to create a world you can get lost in as a viewer. Power boosts, in-game currency, multiplayer hubs and more are used to bring Free City to virtual life. Using real-life streamers to try and provide the game a sense of real-world validity was unnecessary. The streamers are essentially used in a similar fashion as the tv viewers in The Truman Show. However, in The Truman Show, those viewers were played by actors, which added to Truman’s journey. In Free Guy, the streamers didn’t add any emotions I wasn’t already feeling and took me out of the film every time.
The Real World in Free Guy
Free Guy doesn’t just shine in-game, but in the real world as well. Before working for Sunnami, a large video game developer similar to Ubisoft or Activision, Key worked as an independent video game developer with Millie. The game they created was designed with advanced AI, which allowed NPCs to come alive so to speak.
Key agreed to join Sunnami, while Millie refused. Millie has filed a lawsuit against Antoine. She’s playing Sunnami’s game to find proof that her and Key’s code for the game was stolen. Millie and Key are still friends but are on opposing sides to start. The scenes between Keery and Comer pop with just the right amount of unrequited love.
Mouser’s the only character that didn’t work for me. He doesn’t come across as intelligent as Key to be a worthy rival. Neither does he grovel well enough to serve as a doormat for Antoine. There’s a lot happening in the final act, but Mouser does very little to stop Guy or help Key and Millie, which makes him somewhat useless.
Everything Waititi does is spectacularly evil and funny. The physical comedy and callous nature are reminiscent of Mel Brooks in Spaceballs or Blazing Saddles. You just don’t get great villains like this in many comedies.
In the game, Guy learns the truth about his existence. Reynolds is outstanding at showing Guy’s range of emotions during this part of the story. Guy’s decision is the type of unselfishness we don’t see anymore.
The final act is appropriately bonkers but never loses the comedy and warmth. The way Free Guy uses Guy and Millie’s far too similar interests is turned on its head beautifully in the real world.
Free Guy Final Thoughts
The cast, Levy’s energetic directorial eye and warmth makes Fall Guy a must-watch summer film.
The Review
Free Guy
PROS
- Ryan Reynolds is endlessly charming in this role and is matched by Jodie Comer's layered performance in what should be a breakout role for her.
- The script by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn excels at capturing the chaos of the game world and adding real-world stakes outside of the game.
- Shawn Levy has a great eye for visuals.
- Taika Waititi delivers a comedic villain for the ages.
CONS
- The usage of video game streamers. They are used too often and took me out of the film every time.
- DUDE
- Mouser doesn't serve much of a purpose.
