MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Action Comedy/Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi, Channing Tatum, Matty Cardarople, Britne Oldford, Camille Kostek, Mark Lainer, Mike Devine, Sophie Levy, Vernon Scott, Naheem Garcia, Anabel Graetz, Ric Plamenco, Kenneth Israel, Michael Malvesti, Michael Tow, Colin Allen, Bob Gilliam, Jonathan De Azevedo, Destiny Claymore, Minh-Ahn Day, Jose Guns Alves, Chris Evans, Lara Spencer, Alex Trebek; Voices of: Hugh Jackman, Dwayne Johnson, Tina Fey, John Krasinski/Runtime: 115 minutes
I think it’s safe to say dear reader that if there is one thing you might not know about me it’s that I happen to be a complete and utter avid retro video game lover. Now I’m not just talking about Mrs. Pac-Man, Tetris, Pitfall, or Centipede here dear. Rather, I’m talking about Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Madden, NBA 2K11, and *of course* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and San Andreas to name but a few of the multitude of titles that usually wind-up flashing across my television screen at some point during the day. Yet whilst playing these games, I often found myself wondering something truly unusual (especially while invested in San Andreas and Vice City). That being what would happen if one of the NPC’s (Non-Playable Characters) in this game all of a sudden discovered whilst in the middle of all the chaos on screen that he or she was a character in a video game and decided to strive to be more than their programming originally intended for them to be? Yet whilst for a long time I found myself having to utilize my own imagination to answer that question, the land of movie magic decided in the summer of 2021 (having delayed it a couple of times due to the COVID-19 pandemic) at long last to provide myself, and the world at large, with their take on this question which I had long erroneously thought was just a question only I had been asking. The result was a slice of cinema known as Free Guy and honestly dear reader I am so glad that the land of movie magic decided to finally answer this question because I really do dig the heck out of this movie. Indeed are there any glitches to be found in its programming? Sadly yes, but truthfully with how minor they turn out to be I definitely implore you to not let that deter you from giving this slice of cinema a try. I say that because, glitches aside, Free Guy is one slice of cinema that, thanks to the aid of phenomenal work on both sides of the camera, manages to be an engaging, riveting, and just genuinely fun movie that manages to be one of the more replay-worthy cinematic options that the summer of 2021 ever sought fit to give us as movie goers.
The plot is as follows: Free Guy gets its game on by introducing us to a man by the name of (get this) Guy. Guy, we are quick to pick up on, is a kind hearted individual who you could very much consider a fond of routine person. Indeed not only does he do the same ol’ at the bank where he is a hard-working employee, but he also makes the most of the time he spends with his best friend/bank security guard Buddy….whilst also taking in stride the oddly high amounts of both carnage and chaos that he witnesses every single day. Or at least that was his day to day. I say was because we soon witness that a chance meeting with a girl quickly dubbed as “Molotov Girl” leads our hero to make an astonishing discovery. That being that he is actually what is termed as an NPC (non-playable character for those of you not in the know) in an open world video game known as Free City (think Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, and The Sims all mixed together in a blender). As for Molotov Girl it is also around this time that we discover that she is actually the in-game avatar for a girl in the real world by the name of Millie. Millie, along with her friend Keys, were the original creators of the source code that was part of a game called Life Itself, but who had that code swiped from them by an unscrupulous developer by the name of Antwan Hovachelik who used it to make Free City. Since this incident, we see that while Keys has found employment at Antwan’s company Soonami, Millie has been day in and day out going through the entirety of Free City as Molotov Girl in order to locate proof of her and Keys’ claims. Suffice it to say that, following a moment or 10 of having to process this earth-shattering revelation, we soon see Guy becomes self-aware and decides to help Millie/Molotov Girl in this mission of hers. Yet with the eyes of the world watching him and the rest of the game’s NPC’s starting to following his lead to say nothing of the arrogant Antwan desiring to shut down Free City for good so as to make way for the obligatory sequel, can Guy overcome the odds stacked against him and become the hero this game and its inhabitants never saw coming? That I will leave for you to discover for yourself dear reader……
Now right off the ol’ video game controller, I know you are most likely looking at the synopsis above and thinking “woah! Did he just give away the whole movie?!”. Well thankfully I can say with absolute certainty that I most assuredly have not because there is definitely a lot of discoveries attached to watching this slice of cinema that have not been tackled above. A feat that I can thankfully attribute to the wonderful script that was penned for this slice of cinema by Matt Lieberman. Indeed Lieberman, with the aid of Zak Penn, does a terrific job at not only consistently conjuring up amusing concepts throughout that manage to wonderfully demolish stereotypes of the video game phenomenon, but also in providing this slice of cinema with some truly riveting twists in the narrative road that permit this movie to be viewed as its own distinct entity and not as a carbon copy of the multitude of movies that inspired it. Indeed what may have started life as just an engaging idea has managed to become a truly wonderful entry in the action-comedy genre of movie magic that is able to be both engaging and also quite emotional in equal measure. Yet even though we see that this slice of cinema has no qualms about actually engaging in a bit of thought-provoking it also doesn’t permit itself to get bogged down by this. Instead, this slice of cinema wisely chooses to place its focus on it’s main character’s journey from being just “a face in the crowd” to a bonafide hero. Yes, you can rightfully say that this is an arc that is quite run of the mill due to all the times we have seen it play out in cinema before, but this slice of cinema actually manages to make it so find yourself actually relating with Guy and his quest due to reminding us that we too have had moments in our lives where we have wanted to be the hero of our story. On top of that, our dynamic scripting duo manage to do such a terrific job with the various relationships between the characters that chunks of the narrative might be easy to figure out, but the movie overall still feels distinct. Indeed, from the genuinely delightful bromance between Guy and Buddy to Guy and Millie/Molotov Girl actually forming a connection so to speak, we see that the script writers are actually able to make us truly care about these characters thus adding a wonderful spark of sentimentality to the proceedings. Along with that though, it should come as no surprise that since the world of Free City is more or less the kind of organized chaos that fans of Grand Theft Auto or The Sims know all too well, there should be at the very least some scenes of truly wild shenanigans afoot. Thankfully, we see that film helmer Shawn Levy and this movie’s effects team prove they are more than up to the challenge of making that possible. As a result, we see that not only are they able to do a wonderful job at testing the limits of the game environment, but they also are able to give us moments that are equally taut as they are humorous. Indeed it is quite obvious that everyone who was a part of the team making this film was passionate about making Free City be as realistic as possible and that passion wonderfully permeates through the screen at every given opportunity to the point that you will most likely need to watch this movie more than once just to capture all the little details and Easter Eggs in each frame. Suffice it to say that the work being done behind the camera to bring this truly vibrant and lively movie to life is no more and less than movie magic at its finest.
Of course, the other big element that is working in this slice of cinema’s favor would have to be the fact that it is blessed with a truly talented cast of players in front of the camera. This starts with none other than the genuinely funny and delightful Ryan Reynolds in the lead role of Guy. Indeed this is a rather distinct comedic role for Reynolds since, unlike his turn as Deadpool, he can’t really deploy his typically snarky sense of humor due to the fact that Guy is supposed to be a genuine individual. Even with that potential stumbling block in place however, there is no denying that Reynolds does a wonderful job at committing to Guy’s happy-go-lucky disposition 110%. Yes there are moments throughout this slice of cinema that take him to some not so positive places, but thanks to the performance provided by Reynolds we see that Guy’s perseverance and upbeat attitude are able to stay consistent from beginning to end. Proving to be just as wonderful as Reynolds however is Jodie Comer who, in her dual role of Millie/Molotov Girl is clearly having a blast at something a bit more uplifting following her phenomenal turn in the series Killing Eve. Indeed not only does Comer capably match Reynolds beat for beat in this, but she also does a wonderful job at being absolutely commanding in this film’s action beats. To be sure, Comer does sell the emotional moments in this phenomenally well, but the comedic back and forth she has with Reynolds is absolutely outstanding too. Suffice it to say that this is a phenomenal turn from an actress that I really can’t wait to see where her career goes from here because she truly is a top-tier talent. Along with the efforts from Reynolds and Comer however, we see that this slice of cinema is also blessed with some truly wonderful work from its support cast as well. This starts with the absolutely fantastic Lil Rel Howery who, as Guy’s BFF Buddy, does a fantastic job at not only making his scenes with Reynolds shine, but also in bringing some much-needed joy to the proceedings as well. Meanwhile we also get a terrific effort here from Steve Harrington from Stranger Things ehhh Joe Kerry who does a terrific job at playing this guy who operates, albeit reluctantly at first, as Millie’s quasi-sorta inside man at the company behind the game only to find himself really being drawn in to aiding her and Guy on their quest. With all of those efforts in mind though, there is one co-starring effort that is perhaps the most out there and that would be the one given by two-time Thor director Taika Waititi as the film’s antagonist Antwan. Yes Thor: Love and Thunder did show us what happens when Taika is allowed to go too far into his comedic leanings, but here he does a great job at being this over the top and highly arrogant almost moustache-twirling worthy villain and it is clear, especially whenever he goes into meltdown mode, that he has having a blast in the role. Suffice it to say then that the work done by the cast of players in front of the camera is incredibly well-done no matter how big or small their role in the proceedings may be.
All in all dear reader if there is one thing that is sadly not as common as it used to be it’s one of two things. Either when a slice of cinema manages to surprise me with how genuinely good it turns out to be or when we as movie goers get one that is (brace yourselves for this) not based on a pre-existing property or is a sequel/reboot/spin-off or what have you. Thankfully I can say that the slice of cinema that is 2021’s Free Guy is one slice of cinema that happens to be just merely one of those yet not the other. Rather, it is both of those things at the same time and the end result is nothing short of genuinely magical. To be sure, there are some issues that are scattered around throughout this slice of cinema’s 115 minute, including credits, runtime, but when the work done behind the camera is this astonishingly incredible and the work being done in front of the camera is this engaging who am I to quibble? Suffice it to say then that, with the aid of top flight work from some truly skilled film wizardry behind the camera and a collection of phenomenal performances from an immensely skilled cast led by comedic genius Ryan Reynolds in front of the camera who all also look like they are having an absolute blast with the material, Free Guy is more than just a wonderful and engaging tribute to video games such as Grand Theft Auto and The Sims. Rather, it’s also a movie that from beginning to end is just a complete and utter delight to say nothing of one that I have no doubt will be one that you will enjoy every time you watch it dear reader be it your first or 21st time. Yes, I have no doubt that this slice of cinema, much like its titular character, did not want to be one of the more recent advocates for more original works from the land of movie magic, but as long as they are made with this much passion and heart then I say game on Hollywood! Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give Free Guy “2021” a solid 4 out of 5.
