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Free Guy -- A Review

It’s easy to see why Free Guy did so well financially. It was a refreshing blast of fresh air for pandemic-weary audiences who desperately needed a good laugh. Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a NPC (Non-Player Character) in an open-world video game who goes through a monotonous daily existence as a bank teller over and over--until he abruptly becomes self-aware and starts subtly changing his routine. When Guy takes the sunglasses off of a criminal who tries to rob his bank, the sunglasses shows him a side of his world that he had literally never seen before, like video game rules and aids being presented to him.

This is reminiscent of John Carpenter’s They Live, where a pair of special sunglasses shows the hero in that film how the world really works, as well. And just like in They Live, once he keeps wearing the sunglasses, Guy also starts to see his world for what it really is: a violent arena ruled by sadistic psychopaths (video game players), where Guy and his fellow NPCs only exist to become collateral damage--their deaths earn the players points, and nothing more. Using the sunglasses to his advantage, Guy goes after a hot woman he’s admired from afar by the name of Molotov-Girl (Jodie Comer). Molotov-Girl--thinking he’s just a fellow player in the game--further helps Guy on the path of becoming the hero beloved by everybody as Blue Shirt Guy.

Free Guy really deserves all the money and kudos it received, because it’s an enjoyable ride that’s extremely funny. Directed by Shawn Levy, Free Guy is not only a comedy, but it's a very good science fiction film that actually manages to make a statement (or two) about life in general. The movie works largely because of Ryan Reynolds’ charm; the Deadpool movies easily show his on-screen charisma, and Reynolds is just as likeable and sympathetic here.

But Levy also gives Reynolds a solid cast to work with, including Jodie Comer, who effortlessly plays the in-game Molotov-Girl, as well as her real-life counterpart. And Joe Keery, best known from Stranger Things, is also very good as Guy’s real life sidekick Keys. But it’s Taika Waititi, as the villainous Antwan, who nearly steals the show. Waititi is pitch-perfect, while still being very funny, as the sleazy owner of the video game company who stole the original code that Guy’s video game world is based on.

In addition to being a fun popcorn flick, Free Guy also has some much-needed positive messages about free will and following your own dreams. I’m not a video game player, and didn’t even know what a NPC was until the film told me, and yet I still enjoyed Free Guy very much. In fact, Free Guy was so much fun for me that I’m already looking forward to The Adam Project, another science fiction-themed comedy that re-teams Ryan Reynolds with director Shawn Levy once more on Netflix in March. --SF

Free Guy can be seen on 4K and Blu-Ray here.

Free Guy can also be seen on Disney Plus starting Feb 23.

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