Free Guy: This One's a Winner!

This movie has been pushed back a lot. It orignially was supposed to release in July 2020 and then it got pushed to December of that year. Unfortunately, it got pushed to May 2021...only to be moved again to August. Was Free Guy worth the wait? That's what I'm here to tell you.

Free Guy is directed by Shawn Levy and stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Watiti. Guy (Reynolds) has a normal life: He gets up every morning, grabs a coffee, and goes to work at the bank. Everything changes, however, when he meets Molotov Girl (Comer) and Guy finds out that he's an NPC (Nonplayble character) in a super-popular, violent, open-world video game. With all of that out of the way, let's get started!

To answer the question from earlier, yes, this movie was worth the wait. This is one of the most feel-good movies I have seen in a long time. I really dug it. What makes it work so well is Ryan Reynolds. Yes, he plays pretty much the same guy (no pun intended), but I never really minded. Here, it's a little different. As opposed to Reynolds' other wise-cracking characters, Guy is just oblivous to everything. It doesn't make a difference to him that he does the same thing everyday. He's fine with his bank being robbed. When he starts meeting actual players and they start using game lingo (asking him where he got his "skins" and what his gamer tag is), it's hysterical. He doesn't know he's not real. Reynolds' humor really helps with the character. There's one scene later in the movie when Guy is just going off on another NPC who keeps losing her cats. She doesn't know her world is fake, but Guy is having an existential crisis. What also helps is the chemistry he has with Molotov Girl, who, in the real world, is a video game designer named Millie. Comer and Reynolds had great back-and-forth. They bounced off of each other really well. It was pretty funny watching her realize that Guy believes he's real. The way their friendship evolves was pretty organic and believable. It was pretty fun to watch. Another relationship I liked was the one between Guy and his friend, Buddy (Howery). Their chemistry was off-the-charts. It felt like these two were actual friends. I loved whenever they were together. There's just something fun about watching two characters talk and bond with each other. I hope Reynolds works with Howery and Comer again. Going back to Comer's character, I mentioned earlier that she plays someone in the real world named Millie. This leads into another portion of the film I enjoyed. Going in, I was a little worried that I wouldn't really care about the stuff that was happening in real life. I was anticipating that it would take the momentum out of the video game world. Luckily I was wrong. Most of the characters there are pretty enjoyable, particularly Keys (Keery), a video game designer who used to work with Millie. The concept was so unique and it's really refreshing to see an original idea nowadays. As someone who plays video games quite a bit, I never thought to myself, I wonder how this random guy on the side of the road is doing. It kind of had an Edge of Tommorow vibe to it because they wake up everyday and do the same thing over and over again. Guy is really the only one who changes things up. This movie is also really funny too, which is something we desperately need nowadays. My friend and I were cracking up together. There's just something funny about watching Ryan Reynolds get hit with a car. Free Guy also has a ton of Easter eggs and cameos. For video game fans, there are a lot of items and even YouTubers that you'll recognize. The game this movie takes place in is pretty much Grand Theft Auto. If you look in the background, you'll side characters do stupid stuff like jumping around and dancing, which is something that happens a lot in online games. There are also some references to other movies, too. One connects with a really awesome came (I won't spoil for you like it was for me. Thanks TikTok). I think what I liked the most about this movie is that it's just makes you feel good. Let's face it, the past year and a half has been pretty crappy and we all need something to take our minds off of things. This film, as Ryan Reynolds posted, "is about friendship." It truly is and there is just something so pure about it which we don't see a lot of in movies nowadays. It was refreshing to see it on the big screen.

Even though I really liked this movie, there are a few issues I had with it. The pacing can be a little off sometimes. There are times when it takes a bit for the movie to find it's groove again, but it's not too detrimental to the overall experience. While I liked most of the characters, there were a few that didn't really work for me. The main one is Antwan (Watiti). Don't get me wrong I love Taika Watiti (have you guys seen Jojo Rabbit?), but he was sort of annoying here. I don't know if it was the script or just how he played him. He's a little too over-the-top and it gets a bit distracting. Antwan is the owner of the game company which created Free World. Watiti, however, does do a pretty good job of playing a sleazy game executive. It's just that, like I mentioned, he goes a little too far sometimes. Another character that didn't do it for me was Mouser (Ambudkar). He works with Keys at the company, but he's just kinda there. For me, he doesn't really add anything and his humor didn't work. It's never really revealed if he's friends with Keys. I wasn't sure if the movie wanted me to feel bad for him or not because he does a lot of stupid things. It's hard to explain without spoiling it. There are a few instances when the movie can get a little too predictable, but it's not a major issue. Some of the techno-babble can be a little cheesy at times, but it was never too much.

Overall Free Guy was a pretty good time. What makes this movie succeed is Ryan Reynolds, the chemistry he has with his co-stars, Jodie Comer, the things going on in the real-world, the humor, the concept, and the overall theme of friendship. It's held back by the pacing at times, Taika Watiti as the villain, and its predictability. I was really surprised with this one! If I were to rate it, I'd give Free Guy an 8/10. Definitely go see it if you have the chance!