‘Free Guy” Has It All And More!
By Isabella Smarro, Managing Editor
If you love Ryan Reynolds and are in the mood to laugh… a lot, then “Free Guy” is the film to watch. This comedy/action film was released this year, directed by Shawn Levy. The movie is about a bank teller, played by Ryan Reynolds, named “Guy” who finds out that he’s actually an NPC for a popular video game. With the help of a coder, played by Jodie Comer, he decides to become the good guy in a digital world where there are no limits.
The best part about this movie is that Ryan Reynolds gets to express his typical heavy humor throughout the entire piece. He’s best known for playing Deadpool in the movie series of the same name, which contains a lot of adult humor and disturbing images. With this film you see some of that but only enough to keep adults interested while their kids watch the film.
“Free Guy” has a very interesting scene set-up, with the digital world containing realistic values like the game “Detroit: Become Human,” while sneaking small volumes of cartoon vibes like the “Lego Batman Movie”. It’s a great mix because it speaks to the modern generation which enjoys both.
Back in the real world, the movie either takes place in the video game’s production building or at Molotov Girl’s apartment. I found the visuals in this movie to be pretty clever. For example, Antoine — the CEO of the gaming company — is very rich, so it only makes sense for his building to fit the bill. In the first seconds of viewing the inside of his place, you see walls with glass and digital waves in motion. This wasn’t just pleasing to look at but was also important because it allows audience members to develop the understanding that Antoine cares about looks a little too much.
This movie brings its A-game performance thanks to the odd romance between Guy and the coder. What I loved most was how every time Guy was crushing on her, cheesy music played in the background. It felt very natural to this type of movie. The volume of love in the air is strong, especially for the strong friendship between Guy and video game police officer Buddy, played by Lil Rey Howery. Before the realization that they lived in a game, both characters did the same thing each day for always and always. Smiling, sharing thoughts and drinking coffee together, these two characters had a strong bond.
These human characteristics with these non-living people made the personal connections made during the film much more natural. With this said, the film hits some very typical struggles real living people face daily. For Guy, he had to decide who he truly was in a world where he was made to be something else. It’s a great lesson to watch because you get to see the obstacles life may throw at you and learn the steps to achieve them.
Another key success that Shawn Levi achieved was the clean transformations between scenes. The best example is the montage of Guy leveling up his score by being the good guy. It shows how his fighting skills grow and what prizes are won each time.
What’s even better are the heavy levels of cameos that are shown within the film. During the montage, we get to see famous gaming YouTubers like Jacksepticeye, Pokimane, Ninja and DanTDM react to Guys’ playing skills. They all think Guy is a talented human player but no one knows he’s an NPC. It’s very funny to see them act since some have never been in a movie before. Some were good, some weren’t, but the idea of using real YouTubers in a video game movie was genius.
At the end of the day, even though the video game itself may not be super unique or even cool to play, “Free Guy” is unique, bringing realism, humor and a touch of love to the screen.
8/10