The of Free Guy follows Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who’s an NPC in a video game. He eventually decides to become a hero in the game with the hopes of winning over the girl of his dreams, who happens to be one of the “sunglasses people” (people from the “real world” who are players in the game). The thing I loved about the plot is that it has a little bit of everything. It has action, comedy and an adorable love story all wrapped into one film and it’s all pretty evenly distributed throughout. You’re not left sitting there waiting for things to pick back up again, and you’re not rushing through the moments in the storyline either. Nothing in the story line is revealed too soon or not soon enough. I also like how the perspectives switch between Guy and the players from the real world.
I think it is also crucial to mention that the ending had me grinning like an idiot all eight times I watched it.
Though many of the characters were video game characters, they were well written enough where you’re left rooting for and connecting with them. Guy was obviously a character who’s easy to connect with as much of the film is in his perspective, but even the supporting roles of the other background characters left an impression with their quirky personalities and eventual aspirations to be more than “just a background character.” Characters who live outside of the video game include Keys, (Joe Keery), and Millie, (Jodie Comer), both game developers, Mouser (Utkarsh Ambudkar), Key’s coworker, and Antoine (Taika Waititi), Keys’ and Mouser’s boss. All of them have their own distinctive personalities and motives that they bring to the table, and though some live in a virtual world while others live in the real one, they are all connected.
As far as props go, I thought they were spot on. All the video game characters looked like they were wearing legitimate clothing you would find on an NPC or in a video game avatar store. The weapons and gear used in the video game world were also things that you would actually find in video games, such as The Portal Gun, or Fortnite’s Llama Pickaxe. There were certainly several pop-culture references throughout, especially in one particular battle towards the end of the movie.
I thought the set was very immersive and believable, both in the video game world and in the real one. The headquarters of the gaming company was very polished and high class, as a successful gaming company should have. The video game world was your standard city scape, just with lots of explosions and video game items.
The director of Free Guy is Shawn Levy. Levy also directed the Night at The Museum movies, which I loved watching during my childhood, as well as a few episodes of Stranger Things. Based on my enjoyment of those projects, I think that Free Guy certainly lives up to Levy’s reputation.
I also find it necessary to mention how great the music was in this film. The score was written by Christophe Beck (the man who wrote the music in the Frozen movies), so you know it’s good. It also features Mariah Carey’s Fantasy, which will be stuck in your head for days after watching.
