Boy does it feel great to get to go back to the movies, just to most likely have everything get delayed again. Well, was nice having a taste of normalcy before Covid's Delta variant happened. Oh well.
This year has been an interesting time for movies. That being said, I have enjoyed nearly everything I have seen. Black Widow came a bit late and was a pretty good film, Suicide Squad absolutely killed it, and Demon Slayer was not just a fantastic anime film, but just a superb movie in general. They haven't all been hits though, and as I began to see more about Shawn Levy's Free Guy, I began to wonder where it would fall.
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Taika Waititi, Joe Keery, and Jodie Comer, Free Guy tells the story of Guy (Reynolds), a bank teller who one day realizes that he is actually an NPC in an open world, multilayer video game. Upon seeing one of the players, Molotov Girl (Comer), Guy makes the decision to break from his usual routine and become a hero, eventually setting out to save the world and his friends from deletion.
The premise for this movie is easily something that could have been absolutely terrible or pretty amazing, and I'm thankful to report that it is the second one. The idea is a simple one that I'm sure many gamers have thought about over the years, but made with such a great cast, it works really well. It is also interesting seeing this video game world presented in the film. It is a strange mixture of Grand Theft Auto, with maybe a little Fortnite. It makes for some interesting moments and set pieces, especially as you watch all of the chaos happening in the background while mundane stuff happens. Stuff like that really does sell that video game feel.
On that subject though…one thing that will always bother me about movies like this is that they can never make these worlds feel or look exactly like a real video game. Which is understandable; it is just a movie on this. It isn't supposed to be exactly like any one video game or anything. It’s just, sometimes things don't quite work for me. “God Modding" would not be at all the same as it is here. Despite being modern, the in game graphics like a Playstation 2 game. How does an open world, multiplayer game have save points? That just would work.
In all honesty, most of my complaints are just minor things as a gamer. My only other small thing is that the tone wasn't always the most consistent. At times, everything felt like a family or kids movie, but then suddenly things would get brought up or said that made me think otherwise. Still, most of the humor and moments worked as intended, so I can't complain too much.
Now back to things I liked. The cast for Free Guy was phenomenal. Ryan Reynolds was wonderful as Guy. He brought his usual great acting and charisma to the role, turning it into something special. Joe Keery probably had the least of the main cast to do, but I did like his character in the movie. He was an employee of Soonami Games, the developer of the game “Guy" was in. I thought his development and arc made sense, even if it was a bit predictable. He and Jodie Comer's Millie/Molotov Girl surprisingly add a nice touch to this story. Jodie Comer is surprisingly the one actor in this movie I don’t think I had heard of prior, but she was one of my favorite characters very early on. You really want to see her succeed in her goals in getting revenge on Soonami for stealing her game code.
Last but not least in these characters is our villain, the head of Soonami, Antwan. Taika Waititi plays him, and you can just tell that he is having the time of his life. Everything about him is so over the top and extra that despite wanting and having every reason to despise him, I just can’t. On top of that, whoever was in charge of wardrobe needs a raise, because those coats that he wears are just perfect. While I have no doubt that this movie would have been great even without Taika, he really adds so much to this film to give it that extra push into greatness and have it be that much more entertaining.
Another thing I enjoyed that really added to the film were the Easter Eggs and cameos. A lot of references and weapons were seen from various video game franchises. I honestly didn't expect anything like that when going into this. There are also numerous cameos from celebrities and YouTubers throughout it all. I knew about some of the YouTube ones from watching one of the ones featured in the film, but a lot of the celebrity ones were a bit surprising. Some were so well hidden that I am only now finding out about them. I am avoiding talking about a lot of details with this movie to avoid spoilers, but I must say that there is one major, brief cameo in the last act of the movie that caught me so off guard but had me dying from laughter.
So, all in all, is Free Guy a perfect movie? Not at all. With an at times inconsistent tone, video game logic that doesn't make sense, and a pretty predictable plot, it certainly had it’s faults. That being said, it is an absolutely fun time. I was worried going into it, but pretty soon into the movie that all faded. Free Guy is a movie that I absolutely recommend seeing just for casual movie goers. If you are a fan of video games, especially more modern ones, then it isn't even a recommended, it is a must see. If you are able to safely go see it during these troubling times, I ask you to. Not just for the thrill of the movie, but to show theaters and Hollywood that we want to keep theaters open. This is a tough time for those companies and studios. They could use the support. So go check out Free Guy if you are able, or if not, check it out when it comes to streaming and blu ray, you won't be disappointed.
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