One Line Review: Never expected a movie with such a fresh and interesting story.
Youtube Trailer Free Guy
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer
Director: Shawn Levy
Release Date: 13 August 2021
Introduction
Free Guy is starring Ryan Reynolds who already sells us directly the action-comedy brand with a charismatic protagonist, something that seems to be what the Canadian actor has specialized in. Free Guy is one of the last 20th Century Fox films to be left in distribution limbo with the purchase of Disney and later due to the pandemic.
Plot Summary
A Bank employee finds out that his life isn’t real and he is just a background player in a game. He then decides to turn that table around and become the main character of the game. This leads him into some hilarious trouble and adventure, and finally some romance with the coder of the game.
Videogames in the world of cinema
Free Guy is essentially an action-comedy that talks about the world of video games. Both inside and out. We have two plots, one in the world of video games itself, which is the heroic plot and which sustains more than half of the film, and another plot that is going to tell us about how video game companies work from the offices. In fact, there are several phrases that are very reminiscent of the recent incident with Cyberpunk 2077.
What I can never commune is in the representation of video games in the cinema. Yes, we have the exception of Ready Player One, which is not only a great movie because Spielberg is behind it, but because it plays with a very good base idea and all the rights to Warner Brothers. But in the case of Free Guy, we have something that has always seemed implausible to me. The video game that they present to us as “the great video game that half the world is hooked on” is totally implausible. Only from the design of the game itself (which seems horrendous to me) but because no matter how hard they try to make Fortnite look like with the character skins, you can see that the video game is horrendous.
If we believe that the video game presented to us in Free Guy is cool, the movie works. Not only because it is visually well adapted but because there is money to burn here. You can tell that it is a set, but since it is a video game they play with it and it looks great. The action is spectacular and when the movie gets very videogame it works very, very well. Especially since Disney let them put in some references, which are my favorite moments from the movie.
The power of the positive message
One of the good things about Free Guy is the script. Yes, it is tremendously easy. Yes, we have seen it a thousand and one times, but it is well written. The different plots are well spun (both in the video game world and in the real world) and when they start to close plots by spinning all the points the story works very well.
The best thing about Free Guy is the morality, like the 80s adventure movies. That message that the film conveys in which he basically defends that you can do good and be a hero without having to hurt anyone. And that for the younger generations seems very nice.
Try to be much funnier than you are
It may be my thing but recently it has happened to me that both with The Suicide Squad and with Free Guy I have not laughed at what the movies want me to laugh at. I may have a bad day or they may just think they are funnier than they really are.
Or I may even have had enough of Ryan Reynolds. Look, he is an actor that I really like but in Free Guy, I have had enough of his easy humor. The one who really amused me has been Taika Waititi, who may be amazing but has a couple of quite funny moments in the film.
Conclusion
Free Guy is another Ryan Reynolds action-comedy that we can put in the drawer with The Other Bodyguard, Deadpool, or 6 Underground. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, and it has a good message. If you don’t ask too much of him, he can give you a good afternoon.
