'Free Guy' Review: A Timely, Funny, and Heartfelt Original Adventure
Ryan Reynolds in FREE GUY.
In this current, limited, cinematic world full of sequels, franchises, and adaptations, Free Guy enters the game as a refreshingly original idea. The film centers around Guy (played by Ryan Reynolds in a way that no one but him could), a non-player character in the fictional video game, Free City. Guy lives a pleasant life as a bank teller, accompanied by his best friend, Buddy (Lil’ Rel Howery), who is the bank’s security guard. Through their mundane routines of waking up at the same time every morning, picking out the same outfit, drinking the same coffee, or comically re-living the same robbery at the bank everyday, they dream of a life that is richer and filled with love. Guy confides in Buddy of his dream of a woman that he knows but has not yet met; a woman who is cool, strong, independent, and totally out of his league. It’s all a great fantasy until one day he meets her in the street by chance, and validates that his dreams might actually become a reality.
Warning: Minor Spoilers Ahead.
The dream girl turns out to be a real-life player named Millie (Jodie Comer), who we later find out designed the original components of the game which have now been poorly altered by money-hungry publisher Antwan (played in a ridiculous, almost cartoonish way by Taika Waititi). The heart of the game that Millie and her partner, Keys (Joe Keery) designed is now lost, and a glitchy, boring version of their game is what turned into Free City. The bad guys within the video game are the “sunglasses people,” who are real-life players completing missions within the game. Desperate to find this better life for Buddy and himself, one morning Guy breaks the mold of the events that are supposed to happen and ends up attaining a pair of sunglasses. Through his new lens, the world is completely different. Buildings are not just buildings; they’re safehouses, checkpoints, and mission headquarters. Money is no longer an object he has to go to the bank to earn; it’s something he can just obtain freely by robbing people on the street.
Ryan Reynolds and Lil’ Rel Howery in FREE GUY.
The main plot comes in when we learn that there’s something special about Guy; though he is supposed to be a non-player character, he seems to have adapted to form original thoughts, memories, and emotions which make him an anomaly in the game’s system. Guy, in fact, is the purest form and furthest natural development of Millie and Keys’ original coding, making him the first AI and therefore a major threat to Antwan as he gets ready to launch a sequel to Free City. After he meets Millie, she explains to him that he’s not real—that he is an advanced background character in a video game, and that he wasn’t “supposed” to figure it out. In order to avoid having Antwan wipe the data and players of the original game, including Guy, everyone must work together to defeat Antwan and the sunglasses people and make their way to the paradise island at the end of the game world—the only original element remaining from Millie and Keys’ coding which will be the evidence they need to prove that Antwan stole their original idea.
In addition to a slew of excellent cameos scattered throughout, the film is incredibly fun from start to finish. In part due to a well-written script, but primarily due to the performances from the cast. Everyone is clearly having a blast making the film, which only heightens the excitement and engagement of the audience. Reynolds has always had an impeccable charm that humbled the sarcastic, jerk-next-door quality found in many of his characters, but he plays Guy with a sweet sincerity that really allows the audience to root for him. Perhaps most surprising is the philosophical elements that challenge both the characters and the audience to question themselves. Themes such as the modern advancement (and feared takeover) of technology, the contemplation of worth and value, our question of mortality, and the idea that we are not necessarily what we are born into. While Antwan thinks solely in dollar signs and working towards profit and self-gain, the people around him begin to lose their loyalty and his ideas begin to fail. Guy, Millie, and Keys, on the other hand, work to create and fight for things that matter and are rooted in love and ultimately succeed.
Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer in FREE GUY.
This brings us to one of the only downfalls of the film. For everything it succeeds in bringing to the table—especially on the themes of supporting original creative work and not being driven just by numbers and dollar signs—it’s hard not to laugh at the irony when the film is being presented by Disney, one of the largest corporations in the world. Disney, most especially with its recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, is infamous for capitalizing on the idea of franchises, sequels, reboots, and live-action adaptations. Though housing beloved IPs such as Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Pixar, the joke seems all but lost in the film, especially in a scene in the third act that practically waves their metaphorical wand right in the audience’s face.
That being said, the constant of the film that makes it so successful is that it’s rooted in heart. Whether it be the deep desire from both Guy and Buddy to find love (a pleasant twist on the usual trope of women feeling unfilled because they haven’t found a partner), the strength of the friendships and daily interactions in Guy’s life, or the blossoming relationships between the characters, it creates a welcomed balance in what could have otherwise been another average summer comedy. The video game context that the film is set in also helps to create something that is accessible to viewers of all ages and interests. Whether going on a first date, looking for an outing with the family, or a classic comedy to escape from your own reality, Free Guy is undoubtedly one of the best films of the year.