FREE GUY (2021)

FREE GUY (2021)

Tagline: Life's too short to be a background character.

(Action, Sci-Fi, Comedy) [PG-13]

Medium coffee, cream, two sugars.

This movie is about a video game character who is an NPC (non-playable character or non-player character). Because of the fact that “Free City” is a giant video game none of the characters realize all the carnage going on around them is generated by the outside world. To avoid spoilers I will just say that our main character “Blue Shirt Guy” or Guy (played by Ryan Reynolds) runs into a woman named Molotov Girl (played by Jodie Comer best known as Ray’s mother from THE RISE OF SKYWALKER) who knocks him off his feet and is about to ignite an adventure that will change FREE CITY forever. 

This movie is loaded with cameos, most of which are from the gaming world and the tyrannical truth-hating video platform YouTube. It’s also loaded with dozens if not hundreds of video game and pop-culture references that make this thing a treasure chest of cool concepts. Capitalizing on a great script with some laugh-out-loud moments this movie is just a blast to watch and it’s definitely got me wanting more viewings. If you read my review of READY PLAYER ONE you know that I loved that movie, but this one packs even more heart into its less than 2 hour run time. 

There are no dull moments in this thing and a lot like the early episodes of the SIMPSONS, what is going on in the background of a lot of the shots is even funnier than the actual scene. Shawn Levy known for directing several episodes of STRANGER THINGS and the NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM series handles the material epically. Taika Waititi is awesome in this as the quasi-baddy, this is a great effort out of Ryan Reynolds as usual and both Jodie Comer and Joe Keery (who plays Keys) have great onscreen chemistry. 

One tidbit that isn’t a spoiler, it’s just pretty cool. All of the “strongholds” for the characters in the movie feature various ridiculously expensive vehicles. They are all real and had to be handled very carefully by the film crew to avoid wear and tear. Unlike READY PLAYER ONE, the majority of the onscreen gameplay is realistic, CGI is used, but it doesn’t feel like we are watching a long video game play out. We only see FREE CITY as a video game during shots from the outside world or through special glasses that the characters of real-world players wear. I am guessing this is a bit of a nod to either the fact that sunglasses just make you better than most people or the movie THEY LIVE. 

Overall this thing is just wonderful. It’s amazing and a great time at the theaters if one in your area is open. If you are being super nit-picky of course this movie has a few plot holes, but there is nothing that I wasn’t able to overlook. They even managed to get some of the IT sequences right involving servers and things like that, so it wasn’t like there was a lack of attention to detail. If you enjoy big fun action stuff with great heart and humor, look no further. I give this movie a solid 7 out of 7. In the theater we were in, those watching it with us were actually cheering out loud during some scenes, especially towards the end which featured numerous surprises. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF 20TH CENTURY FOX PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless.