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“Free Guy” is like a hyperactive puppy. It really wants to be your friend. It’s easy to like and fun to hang out with. It also has a habit of running around in circles, losing its focus, and shitting on the floor. A family action movie that targets the Fortnite Generation, "Free Guy" also preaches the importance of individuality while not only feeling like a dozen other movies but literally incorporating some of their imagery. An enjoyable cast, including movie-stealing work from Jodie Comer , holds it all together, but one can still see just enough glitches in this matrix to wish it was better.

With a set-up that feels distinctly like that of “The LEGO Movie,” “Free Guy” introduces us to the very likable Guy ( Ryan Reynolds ), an NPC (Non-Player Character) in a wildly successful open world video game called “Free City.” He wears the same outfit every day, orders the same coffee, and goes to work at the same bank, which gets robbed multiple times a day by actual players in this “ Grand Theft Auto ”-esque game. He doesn’t care. Everything is awesome for Guy and his best pal Buddy ( Lil Rel Howery ) until the cheery fella spots a real player who goes by the handle Molotov Girl (Comer) and breaks his pattern, following the captivating woman down the street. As he becomes more interested in Molotov Girl and where she might be going, he gets his hands on a pair of sunglasses that reveal what the actual players see in this world, including missions, medikits, hubs, and other things that will be familiar to modern gamers, even if some of the tech here already looks dated. (Note: It was a brilliant move to incorporate actual gamers and streamers like Ninja, Pokimane, and DanTDM , cameos that will have kids who know those personalities jumping out of their seats.)

Back in the real world, we learn that Molotov Girl is a programmer named Millie, who used to work with another tech genius named Keys ( Joe Keery ) on the development of a truly ambitious virtual game, one that would replicate the actual world instead of just giving gamers violent missions to perform. She’s in “Free City” trying to find evidence that the game’s egocentric publisher Antwan ( Taika Waititi ) stole her code and deformed it into this bland experience when Guy proves to be the perfect inside man. The Trinity to his Neo, the two form an alliance to basically break “Free City” apart from the inside, starting with Guy’s refusal to raise his rank through violence. Guy chooses only the positive missions in the game, and becomes an internet success in the process as the world tries to figure out who this mysterious gamer might be, without realizing that he’s actually the most remarkable breakthrough in artificial intelligence in history. As Millie and Keys discover what has been created here, they endeavor to save true advancement from brash capitalism.

Director Shawn Levy does an admirable job of keeping “Free Guy” clicking and humming through several entertaining scenes in the first half, including a great montage of Guy’s “good” missions and a funny sequence in which Keys and his programming partner Mouser ( Utkarsh Ambudkar ) go after Guy, but he really starts to lose the pace around the hour mark, circling back to a lot of the same plot points and themes. Rather than developing its own personality, the film struggles to shake the clear influence of other projects like “ The Matrix ,” “ Ready Player One ,” and even “ The Truman Show ” while also dropping in actual gaming and pop culture references with increasing regularity. The film’s best moments embrace the potential of this concept; its worst seem to be mimicking better projects.

Levy also keeps the strongest parts of "Free Guy" moving by drawing out the natural charisma of his cast. Reynolds can do this kind of charming action hero in his sleep, but Comer is a real breakthrough, charismatically holding together both the action-driven scenes as Molotov Girl and the more character-driven ones as Millie. She’s easily the best thing about the film, although it’s nice to see the affable Joe Keery get his best movie role to date too. Sadly, both cede a bit too much screen time to an overplaying Waititi in the second half of the movie, who hits the same unfunny beats over and over again and ends up feeling more cartoonish than the actual NPCs.

Every time that “Free Guy” threatens to become numbingly monotonous, a decision by writers Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn , or one by Comer or Reynolds, brings it back into focus. "Free Guy" is more disposable than it should have been, but it’s a pleasant enough distraction. Gamers often turn to virtual worlds to escape their own. It’s fun to see the journey taken in the other direction.

Available only in theaters on August 13.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Film credits.

Free Guy (2021)

Rated PG-13 for strong fantasy violence throughout, language and crude/suggestive references.

115 minutes

Ryan Reynolds as Guy

Jodie Comer as Molotov Girl

Lil Rel Howery as Buddy

Joe Keery as Keys

Taika Waititi as Antoine

Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser

Writer (story by)

Matt Lieberman

Cinematographer

George Richmond
Dean Zimmerman
Christophe Beck

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Free Guy Reviews

While it’s faux-philosophy about being kind NPC characters is both weird and unfunny, the rousing nature of the film’s good spirit often masks faults in it’s logic

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 4, 2024

Ryan Reynolds again proves he has a real knack for being able to combine huge action scenes and fast-paced humor into one strong production. It is his work in this look inside the video game world that is the real winner.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 10, 2023

Everything I wanted! It’s not just charming & hilarious it’s actually A smart & poignant satire on the video game industry! Ryan’s Best non comic book role since the proposal! Plus Jodie Comer STEALS THE SHOW! This is The Truman Show for this generation!

Full Review | Jul 26, 2023

In addition to the impressive visuals, hilarious comedy bits, and thrilling action sequences, Shawn Levy, Matt Lieberman, and Zak Penn offer a brilliant narrative that deeply explores human nature and what the viewers perceive as "real".

Full Review | Original Score: A | Jul 25, 2023

Yes, it may feel a bit like a marketing ploy and a deliberate crowd-pleaser in parts, but at least it is a damn entertaining one.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 25, 2023

Further, the concept of idea theft and intellectual property is given a satisfyingly thorough exploration.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 23, 2022

Free Guy is a creative burst of fresh air.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 9, 2022

Free Guy is one of the most creative and crowd-pleasing summer spectacles in recent memory, full of clever comedy and subversive action setpieces that will leave every viewer satisfied.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 1, 2022

While it has an undeniably bright and cheery exterior, underneath is little more than a fairly standard and borderline exhausting blockbuster.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 17, 2022

Free Guy is a total blast from start to finish. With creative world-building, it manages to create one of the best video game movies yet.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | May 18, 2022

Packed with wit, humor, action and plenty of heart, Free Guy might just be the best video game movie to ever come out of Hollywood.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 28, 2022

FREE GUY is a refreshingly funny and heartfelt romantic comedy in the guise of a wacky and surprisingly clever video game action movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Mar 15, 2022

a sporadically exhilarating studio movie that wants nothing more than to make you smile, and thats no bad thing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 3, 2022

"Now streaming on Disney+, it's perhaps the most enjoyable video-game-inspired movie yet."

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 26, 2022

Not a bad comedic role for Reynolds, who was once again a laugh a minute, and Taika Waititi was refreshing, but a bit corny in its formulaic wrap-up.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.2/10 | Feb 25, 2022

The film neither is incredibly fun or deep with the result from the film's overly long 115-minute runtime instead simply being mediocre.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Feb 15, 2022

Free Guy cant shake the fact that its a blockbuster film littered with the exact lack of originality that its protagonists criticize.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 12, 2022

Ultimately, while Free Guy has an amazing concept, it's trapped within a massively underwhelming execution.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 14, 2021

What is important is that Ryan Reynolds is playing his typical character, who kicks ass and makes you laugh.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 28, 2021

Free Guy is admittedly derivative, but it also has a huge heart, a lot of soul and a sneakily sly, ingenious, and subversive plot which belies its' day-glow, confectionary, high-gloss finish.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 24, 2021

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‘Free Guy’ Review: Don’t Hate the Player

Ryan Reynolds brings his nice-guy charisma to the role of a video game character who doesn’t want to stay on the sidelines.

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‘Free Guy’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The director shawn levy narrates a sequence from the film, starring ryan reynolds..

Hi this is Shawn Levy. I’m the director and one of the producers of “Free Guy.” So this scene is kind of a turning point for the protagonist named Guy— played by Ryan Reynolds— who is a innocent bank teller who slowly becomes aware that he is a background character inside a video game. And in this fictional video game, entitled Free City, we differentiate between NPCs, otherwise known as non-player characters, versus players, who are people in the real world who come in and play the game and are identified by their sunglasses. The sunglasses give players a heads up display of the power-ups, and weaponry, and hidden treasures within this video game city. So there were a few different layers of aesthetic design in approaching “Free Guy.” The main one and the first one was really rigorous differentiation between the video game world and the real world. So everything in the video game world is shot on a large format camera with spherical lenses, tremendous depth of field, and clean composition. “Excuse me. Do you see this?” I wanted all of it to be additive layers of saturation and overwhelming visual spectacle. I wanted this sequence, frankly, to be a little bit overwhelming to the audience, like there’s too much to take in. Because that’s exactly what Ryan’s character, Guy, is experiencing. As I was preparing for the movie, I played a lot of video games. What I started to see in the video games that I was playing and watching for research is a very specific camera movement style. It was almost robotic in its speed and fluidity. So we designed a move that required a robotic arm. And we programmed the move to move around the character of Guy as he sees all the things he sees through these glasses. “Ohhhhh, what is happening?”

By Maya Phillips

One day you’re just heading to your job at the bank, preparing for its daily spate of robberies, and the next you find out that you’re a side character in a video game. Tough break.

That’s the scenario in which Guy ( Ryan Reynolds ) finds himself in the perky though predictable new adventure-comedy “Free Guy,” directed by Shawn Levy. Guy is comfortable with his monotonous life in the game Free City until he meets a player named Millie ( Jodie Comer ), a coder who is looking for proof that Antwan (Taika Waititi), the money-hungry mogul behind the game’s virtual world, stole her code. With help from her friend and partner Keys (Joe Keery), Millie attempts a code heist with a leveled-up Guy, who has become a viral hero in the gamersphere.

“Free Guy” is as agreeable as its main actor; Reynolds taps into his endless well of nice-guy charisma to deliver an adorable brand of humor that feels like “ Deadpool ” Lite. And the various comic-relief characters (Lil Rel Howery as Guy’s clueless best friend, Waititi as the toxic boss) and cameos (a priceless Channing Tatum and a Marvel surprise) make for a perfectly enjoyable experience.

But innovative? Not so much. Conceptually, “Free Guy” recalls a PG-13 version of “ Westworld ” (fewer stabbings, no sex). The interesting existential tidbits about agency, morality and artificial intelligence play second string to the straw-man argument about the baseness of consumerism. The jokes, too, feel neatly packaged; they’re sometimes funny, but never surprising.

It’s no spoiler to say that art wins over capitalism, the phoned-in romantic subplot is resolved and everyone’s happy in the end. “Free Guy” has charm, but there’s not much memorable in the same old quest, same old boss fight, then game over.

Free Guy Rated PG-13. Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes. In theaters.

Maya Phillips is a critic at large. She is the author of the poetry collection “Erou” and “NERD: Adventures in Fandom From This Universe to the Multiverse,” forthcoming from Atria Books. More about Maya Phillips

Free Guy (2021)

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Free Guy review: Ryan Reynolds is an AI on the loose in sweet screwball comedy

Director Shawn Levy's latest is both deeply silly and surprisingly endearing, even as its explosions and insult-comic banter tweak the outer limits of PG-13.

Ryan Reynolds has played several kinds of superhero on screen in the past decade, to varying degrees of success (oh, the dim light of Green Lantern ), though his most enduring contribution to the genre may not be a character at all, but a whole archetype: Call it Meta Man, droll rodeo clown of the multiverse — the merry quipster who never met a Zamboni joke he wouldn't make or a fourth wall he couldn't break.

In Free Guy (in theaters Aug. 13), he is not strictly super, though he is in fact a guy called Guy: resident of a gleaming metropolis called Free City, where he pops up out of bed every morning like an ecstatic meerkat to the disco squiggle of Mariah Carey's "Fantasy," puts on a fresh blue dress shirt, and heads off to work at the local bank. "Don't have a good day, have a great day," he instructs every customer, beaming. And yet he and his best friend, bank security guard Buddy ( Get Out 's great Lil Rel Howery ), are remarkably unsurprised by the rotating cast of second-tier Batman villains who rob the place with alarming regularity; they just shrug, drop to the floor, and chat cheerfully about their after-work plans until the smoke clears.

Guy doesn't seem to mind this casually homicidal Groundhog Day loop, but he longs for a lady in his life. So when his dream girl ( Killing Eve 's Jodie Comer ) strides by him on the street one day, oblivious, he dares to reach beyond the comfort zone of his morning Mariah and blue button-downs (it's still the same color, it's just a cotton henley now). That's when he discovers, Truman Show –style, that he is not a man at all but an NPC — a non-player character in a video game conceived in part by his new crush.

Inside his world, she's Molotov Girl, a cool assassin in leather pants with a crisp British accent; outside of it, she's Millie, an American coder whose idealistic original creation with her former partner, Keys ( Stranger Things ' Joe Keery ), has been co-opted for a bloody and enormously successful first-person shooter driven by a swaggering tech lord named Antwan ( Taika Waititi, having a ball). If Guy can learn how to navigate the loopholes of what an NPC can do, he and Molotov/Millie might figure out a way to prove that Antwan stole her and Keys' work, and maybe get Guy his first kiss too.

Those stakes are treated with approximately equal weight by director Shawn Levy ( Night at the Museum , The Internship ), which sets it apart from the C-plot status of most romances in chaotic popcorn fodder like this. So does the movie's overall tone — both deeply silly and surprisingly sweet, even as its explosions and insult-comic banter tweak the outer limits of PG-13. Waititi gleefully leans in to Antwan's toxic tech-bro moguldom, a peacocking bully in Yeezys who berates his employees and barely understands the rules of his own game. And the celebrity cameos come fast and loose: Channing Tatum, at least one MCU hero, even the late beloved Alex Trebek.

Elaborate wig work aside, Comer slips as easily into two wildly different personas as she did so regularly ( and memorably ) on Eve . And Reynolds is still very much on brand in his familiar screen mode as the antic joker who serves up one-liners like they're being pinged from a ball machine. But the prancing anarchist of Deadpool has been supplanted here by a much kinder, gentler soul; as word of the rogue NPC spreads, gamers across the world begin to rally for Blue Shirt Guy not just because he's a novelty — they don't entirely understand that he's actual proprietary AI — but because he's nice .

Though Free Guy is one of many projects completed well before the pandemic, its release now feels fortuitously in line with the Ted Lasso mood of the moment, and the general pivot from sneering antiheroes to more atypical ones — like a Guy so at ease in his masculinity that his sincere love of '90s R&B songbirds and bubblegum ice cream can peacefully coexist with his action-man imperative to save the world and get the girl (who regularly, refreshingly, saves herself). In a genre where winky self-awareness has become standard-issue, Free might have come off as manic and hollow; instead, it has fun having a heart. Grade: B

‘Free Guy’ Review: Ryan Reynolds Levels Up in This Meta-Video Game Rom-Com

Pulling ideas from everywhere, this at-times unwieldy mashup of multiple-reality blockbusters like 'The Matrix' and 'The Lego Movie' yields a surprisingly original crowd-pleaser.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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We’ve come a long way since Disney released “Tron” 39 years ago — so far, in fact, that some people actually buy into the theory that what we think of as existence could be just a giant computer simulation, as Elon Musk described at Code Conference in 2016: “Forty years ago we had ‘Pong,’ like two rectangles and a dot. That was what games were. Now 40 years later, we have photorealistic 3D simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously, and it’s getting better every year,” Musk mused. Therefore, “if you assume any rate of improvement at all, the games will become indistinguishable from reality.”

In “ Free Guy ” — an inventive, much-better-than-you’d-expect 2020 summer tentpole that’s finally being released post-pandemic — Ryan Reynolds plays a video game character who doesn’t realize that his world isn’t real. Guy is what’s known as an NPC, or “non-playable character.” In a realm of ones and zeros, he’s a zero: just another of the generic background sims who serve as collateral damage for carnage hounds in a game called “Free City,” a “Grand Theft Auto”-style free-for-all where players are encouraged to wreak havoc, joyriding and blasting their way through a virtual metropolis.

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Whether through a lack of originality or a desire to minimize the exposition in a movie whose elevated concept could’ve gotten unnecessarily complicated, the opening minutes of “Free Guy” borrow heavily from both “Deadpool” and “The Lego Movie,” as Reynolds wryly narrates the rules of his world: In “Free City,” the “sunglass people” are the heroes (represented here by a self-deprecating Channing Tatum), while everyone else are NPCs, blithely going about their “lives” in an endless, uninteresting loop (a “Groundhog Day” conceit that lifts still more DNA from other films, including last spring’s game-based action comedy “Boss Level”).

OK, so “Free Guy” isn’t the most original movie of all time, but what matters here is how co-writers Matt Lieberman (“The Addams Family”) and Zak Penn (“Ready Player One”) make it fresh. Simple, by asking: What would happen if Guy, an NPC, fell in love with one of the players he sees inside the game? It’s like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” in reverse, where the hubba-hubba fantasy girl isn’t an imaginary toon but the avatar for Millie ( Jodie Comer ), aka Molotovgirl, the Pygmalion-like coder who conceived him. So long as audiences like Guy (and he’s played by Ryan Reynolds, so what’s not to like?), it’s easy to root for an impossible romance between the pixelated Romeo and his flesh-and-blood ideal.

Inventively brought to life by “Night at the Museum” helmer Shawn Levy (who designs Free City to look like a cross between a studio backlot and one of those pliable cityscapes seen in “Inception”), the movie’s overstuffed plot divides its time between the game Guy inhabits and Millie’s “real world,” where she and former programming partner Walter “Keys” McKeys (Joe Keery) have parted ways. Keys now works for Soonami, the big-time gaming company that acquired their idealistic early project and, if Millie is correct, buried their code somewhere inside “Free City” instead of developing it as agreed (which, I’m pretty sure, is something software companies are free to do as they please after purchasing someone else’s work, but no matter).

Like Jeff Bridges’ character in “Tron,” Millie sneaks into the game trying to prove that the developer “swiped our AI engine for his shooter.” Needless to say, all those intrigues are considerably less interesting than Guy’s quandary inside the game, although Levy balances things out somewhat by casting Taika Waititi as Antwan, the massively uncouth Soonami owner who comes across as a hilarious combination of all of Silicon Valley’s worst character traits: disgustingly rich, immature, abrasive and inclined to treat everyone who works for him as expendable peons.

Waititi makes his entrance late in the film but nearly hijacks it when he does, inventing a uniquely larger-than-life greed- and attention-monger bent on forcing the millions of “Free City” players worldwide (glimpses of whom we see in hovels and internet cafés) to upgrade to his forthcoming sequel. Apparently, “Free City 2” isn’t backward compatible and will effectively wipe out the revolutionary AI miracle of Guy’s rapidly self-improving personality — just like pretty much every video game sequel ever, by my understanding.

This would be a good point to admit that my own investment in video games dried up almost 30 years ago, when the Sega Genesis came along and rendered my 8-bit Sega Master System obsolete a month or two after I’d poured my life savings into the console. I pretty much stopped playing video games (or anything more complicated than “Candy Crush”) at that point, whereas my brother now spends more of his waking hours gaming than doing anything else. “Free Guy” wasn’t made for me so much as it was for those who invest actual dollars in in-game currency, buying skins and who-knows-what to enhance their avatars.

“Free Guy” assumes a certain level of video game literacy, as in vaguely “Matrix”-like action sequences where Keys and Soonami colleague Mouser (Utkarsh Ambudkar) enter the game as virtual cops and take out offending players (is that a thing?), or when Antwan reboots the game in order to wipe Guy’s brain (aren’t there easier ways to bug-fix?). When all that fails, Antwan takes a fire ax to the server room, which strikes me as one of those Hollywood conceits — like the virus in Sandra Bullock thriller “The Net” melting the screens of every computer it infects — that the filmmakers have embellished to make a thoroughly uncinematic geek concept more exciting.

But let’s be honest: “Free Guy” is a lot of fun, despite the fact that Levy and the screenwriters seem to be changing the rules as they go. Reynolds might be a little too charismatic to be believable as a personality-devoid NPC (the way that Jim Carrey always seemed too chirpily self-aware as the ostensibly naive star of “The Truman Show”), but it’s a thrill to watch the character come into his own, as “Blue Shirt Guy” (as the fans following his exploits in the game call him) levels up in a hurry.

Less experienced, Comer and Keery are young TV actors (from “Killing Eve” and “Stranger Things”) still trying to pin down their respective big-screen appeal, and they come off more generic than the virtual dude their characters invented here. I’m skeptical that the world really wants the “fishbowl game” they developed, or that people would rather watch an autonomous video game than play one themselves. But “Free Guy” is all but guaranteed to make audiences think differently about NPCs. The medium is still in its infancy, and 40 years from now (if Musk is right), when those virtual characters are sophisticated enough to be indistinguishable from people, it could be fun to go back and see how much “Free Guy” got right.

Reviewed at El Capitan Theater, Los Angeles, Aug. 2, 2021. (In Locarno Film Festival.) MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 115 MIN.

Production: A 20th Century Studios release and presentation of a Berlanti Prods., 21 Laps, Maximum Effort, Lit Entertain Group production. Producers: Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy, Sarah Schechter, Greg Berlanti, Adam Kolbrenner. Executive producers: Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, George Dewey, Dan Levine, Michael Riley McGrath.
Crew: Director: Shawn Levy. Screenplay: Matt Lieberman, Zak Penn; story: Matt Lieberman. Camera: George Richmond. Editor: Dean Zimmerman. Music: Christophe Beck.
With: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi.

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Free Guy Review

03 Jul 2020

There’s a moment in Free Guy where the hero, Guy, locked in battle with a ’roided-up clone of himself, does something unexpected. Something which, in fact, could only have happened after Disney’s takeover of 20th Century Fox in 2019. It's a fun, Ready Player One -esque moment, which will very likely please crowds. But when you stop and think about it for five seconds, that something actually makes scant sense within the logic of the narrative. It's emblematic of a movie that is eager to please, throwing all manner of eye-sizzling VFX at the screen, but that doesn't really hang together, even as you’re watching it.

Think a Truman Show riff, with glibness instead of heart. Rather than the man trapped in a TV show played by Jim Carrey, we have Guy, played by fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds , a non-playable character stuck in an open-world video game. Parallels between the two films include a destiny-fulfilling trip across a body of water, and oft-repeated “good morning” catchphrases. But where Carrey's character got an impactful arc, Guy is less easy to care about. Although he’s meant to be a bland, generic everyman slowly breaking out of his loop, he’s actually a wise-cracking snark-machine from the start, dispensing such Deadpoolian zingers as, “It’s like my tongue had a baby with a sunrise.” Reynolds’ schtick sits uneasily with the material, not least as the plot progresses and the comedy starts to jostle for space with existential angst.

Jodie Comer's badass nerd gives the movie some sparks – something in short supply elsewhere.

The world of the game, ‘Free City’, is fun and buzzy enough — a jacked-up Grand Theft Auto -style free-for-all where the players, wearing sunglasses, terrorise the NPCs going around their daily circuits. Director Shawn Levy, veteran of Real Steel and the Night At The Museum films, knows how to marshal VFX and make Jodie Comer , as hacker Molotov Girl, look cool as she leaps around with two Glocks blazing. But whenever the story requires cutting across to the real world, as it frequently does, à la Ready Player One , momentum starts to stall. Frankly, the story’s big question — will the programmers played by Comer and Joe Keery find the evidence to prove Free City’s overlord has stolen their zeroes and ones? — isn’t massively compelling. And even Taika Waititi , as said overlord, clad in an outfit that's half Napoleon Bonaparte, half Hoxton poseur, struggles to muster up laughs as he struts around bellowing at people, let down by thin material.

Comer, at least, impresses in her big Hollywood debut, toggling between British and American accents and looking at ease no matter how bananas things get around her. Her badass nerd gives the movie some sparks. Alas, that’s something in short supply elsewhere, with plentiful eye-candy but little to care about beneath the pixelated surface.

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Free Guy First Reviews: The Biggest Surprise of the Summer

Critics say the ryan reynolds-powered video game meta-comedy will appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike, thanks to big laughs, a big heart, and some unforgettable cameos..

TAGGED AS: Action , blockbusters , Comedy , Film , films , movie , movies , Video Games

Ryan Reynolds stars in Free Guy , a movie about a video game character who suddenly breaks from his expected monotony to reach his full potential. And as it turns out, it’s also a movie that breaks from expectations to reach its full potential. That’s the consensus from the surprisingly very positive reviews from the new action-comedy, which hits theaters on August 13.

While familiar in its premise and the latest movie to capitalize on a studio’s willingness to mash up famous pop culture IP, Free Guy is said to be a lot of fun, with tons of action, laughs, and heart, plus a bunch of surprises that critics aren’t divulging. The only place where reviews really disagree, though, is in where they land on Taika Waititi’ s scene-chewing villainous role.

Here’s what critics are saying about Free Guy :

Is Free Guy more than it seems?

“ Free Guy is way better than you may have been expecting — in fact, it’s absolutely joyful.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

“A very pleasant surprise.” – Mark Cassidy, ComicBookMovie.com

“ Free Guy is surprisingly far more complex than expected.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

“I never expected to see a film that hilariously deals with philosophical conundrums the way The Good Place used to.” – Sherin Nicole, idobi.com

“One of the summer’s bigger surprises.” – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

How does it compare to other video game movies?

“The best-ever video-game movie.” – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

“One of the best video game movies that Hollywood has managed to churn out.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Slashfilm

“[One] of the best video game-themed movies in recent memory.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

(Photo by 20th Century Studios)

Will it appeal to gamers?

“It actually understands what makes video games tick.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Slashfilm

“There are numerous Easter eggs for gamers to find in the background details and, crucially, it’s done with love for the culture, rather than any cynicism.” – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

“Very clearly a movie aimed at young gamers… and for a film aimed at gamers, it seems pretty oblivious to what that audience actually wants in a game.” – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

“When branching off the core story and trying to bring in certain elements, gamers may be less impressed with some of the gag choices.” – Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

What about non-gamers?

“While it’s very respectful and true to gaming culture, it’s one of those movies that almost anyone could watch and find enjoyment in.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

“If you’re not into video games, I wouldn’t say that’s a hurdle for Free Guy any more than not being into Lego is a hurdle for The Lego Movie .” – Matt Goldberg, Collider

“ Free Guy is fun and visually stunning enough to hold the interest of anyone looking for a literal escape to something far away from the real world.” – Catherine Springer, AwardsWatch

“ Free Guy is nothing if not a movie that wins you over in spite of your better judgment and best defenses.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

How is the action?

“The film is loaded with wall-to-wall action, albeit the cartoonish kind that makes this solid family entertainment.” – Chris Bumbray, JoBlo

“The action is used not just to entertain, but to develop characters, which in turn endears them to the audience.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

And the visuals?

“The world-building is incredible… The set design and VFX are impeccable and engaging.” – Yolanda Machado, Nerdist

“They’re just flashy enough to make the world of Free City seem both fun to live in and kind of real.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

What about the script?

“Incredibly uplifting.” – Matt Goldberg, Collider

“However predictable, the journey to get there makes up for it by being akin to a rocket ship.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

“So much energy has been poured into the creation of Free City that the plot suffered as a result.” – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

“If it sounds complicated, plot-wise, that’s because it is, overly so, to the point that the film has to stop a couple of times to explain itself to some extent, although certain plot points remain unexplained, perhaps because the credited screenwriters could not remember the narrative point and/or lost the cocktail napkin on which the script was originally jotted down upon.” – Peter Martin, Screen Anarchy

“ Free Guy is the unfortunate example that fails to add anything new… It neglects to build character and narrative of its own.” – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

Is it funny?

“One of the funniest movies of the year.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

“Hilarious thanks to a few laugh-out-loud surprises courtesy of the merger between 20th Century Studios and the Walt Disney Company.” – Joey Morona, Cleveland Plain Dealer

But does it have heart?

“It really believes in itself…there’s a real, beating heart beneath all that plastic packaging of Free Guy ” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Slashfilm

“Will make your heart swell and burst.” – Joey Morona, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Does the romance work?

“They drop the ball a bit with the romantic elements that crop up, but it’s not the main focus, so that’s easy to forgive.” – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

“The love story that is baked somewhere in all of this…gets serious short shrift.” – Catherine Springer, AwardsWatch

How is the pacing?

“The film benefits from a terrific sense of pace, being one of the few recent action films that’s not a bloated two hours plus.” – Chris Bumbray, JoBlo

“Pacing that keeps you engaged throughout the full two hours.” – Sherin Nicole, idobi.com

“It takes a good half-hour to really find its feet. But, unlike many high-concept blockbusters, Free Guy actually improves as it unfolds.” – James Marsh, South China Morning Post

“The movie begins to drag ever so slightly around the 80-minute mark.” – Mark Cassidy, ComicBookMovie.com

How is Ryan Reynolds?

“He’s once again riffing on the same likable, wise-cracking character he’s built a career on, but it works.” – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

“As Guy, Ryan Reynolds is basically just Ryan Reynolds. That’s not a bad thing, he’s great…it works perfectly for the character.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

“There aren’t many other actors who can pull off this kind of performance, and that’s what I’ve grown to enjoy in watching Reynolds over the years.” – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies

“You get the sense that Ryan Reynolds has never had more fun.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

“Reynolds’ charisma shines through to make Guy a hero we can all get behind.” – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

“His performance as Guy is locked into an ultra-sincere easy mode that feels like the polar opposite of his Deadpool snark even though it clearly stems from the same place.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“[It’s] his best role since Deadpool .” – James Marsh, South China Morning Post

What about Jodie Comer?

“Comer, a bad-ass in her own rights, is relatable and endearing as Molotovgirl/Millie. She matches Reynolds beat for beat.” – Yolanda Machado, Nerdist

“The movie’s Trojan horse and unambiguous MVP. So charismatic in each of her roles that it feels like she’s holding the whole film together with both hands.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

(Photo by )

And Taika Waititi?

“Laugh-out-loud hilarious.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

“Taika Waititi frequently steals the show…always hilarious.” – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

“Annoying as well as funny.” – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

“The amount of leeway afforded to Waititi means getting a variety of great one-liners.” – Aaron Neuwirth, We Live Entertainment

“It appears that Levy simply let him run wild. The result is a loud, unfunny brake-squeal every time Waititi starts riffing and ranting.” – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

“It’s fascinating to watch Taika in action as a bad guy…What a cinematic villain he is!” – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies

“Levy lets Waititi roam free, free to improvise many of his scenes, which are painful to watch.” – Catherine Springer, AwardsWatch

“The weak link…more irritating than entertaining.” – Mark Cassidy, ComicBookMovie.com

How are the cameos?

“Your brains are not prepared for the cameos. Do not let anyone spoil them for you.” – Sherin Nicole, idobi.com

“When it comes to one of the cameos: I was clapping at the same time I was falling out of my seat from pure joy.” – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies

“Some of the most memorable cameo appearances in recent memory.” – James Marsh, South China Morning Post

“A third-act surprise appearance by a certain magical actor is a welcome show-stopper.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Slashfilm

Is there too much going on?

“Much like the recent Space Jam: A New Legacy , Free Guy throws a lot of stuff at the wall, but unlike Warner Bros.’ soulless slog, most of it actually sticks.” – Mark Cassidy, ComicBookMovie.com

“Unlike Space Jam , another sensory overload brimming with IP love, it never feels tacky or put on.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

“Ironically for a film about a background player stepping onto center stage, the best is often happening in the background.” – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

But does it stick the landing?

“Two moments during the climax are as crowd-pleasing as anything you’ll see this year, blockbuster-wise.” – Joey Magidson, Awards Radar

“The film’s final act is a surprise-filled cornucopia — a cathartic cacophony of satisfying payoffs both narratively and emotionally that brings everything together beautifully.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com

“An absolute banger of a finale that should leave big sloppy grins on all but the most joyless of faces.” – Mark Cassidy, ComicBookMovie.com

“The conclusion, through a couple, admittedly, hilarious cameos and pop culture references, Levy succumbs to the same IP-driven storytelling [it] once lamented.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

Are there any other major problems?

“ Free Guy is an irresistibly good time until the moment you’re confronted with the potential consequences of enjoying it.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“Buddy is the Black best friend, a trope the movie smartly lampoons. But he’s also frustratingly close to being a magical Negro.” – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

“One can’t help but feel that the PG-13 rating did somewhat prevent [the movie] from taking full advantage of the concept.” – Mark Cassidy, ComicBookMovie.com

“It bogs down every time we leave Guy to spend time with people in the real world…very little of it is interesting.” – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

Will it hold up to repeat viewings?

“Once Free Guy is over, you immediately want to play it again.” – Matt Goldberg, Collider

“There’s sure to be plenty to be discovered on repeat viewings, even if we’re not quite sure that Free Guy will prove as entertaining the second time around.” – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

“If you pop your quarter in for a single play you’ll get your money’s worth here.” – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

Free Guy is in theaters on Friday August 13, 2021.

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Ryan Reynolds (Almost) Saves Free Guy , Believe It or Not

For a film that doesn’t have an original bone in its body, Free Guy is surprisingly tolerable. “Good” isn’t the word, though. Shawn Levy’s galactically derivative action-comedy mixes elements from The LEGO Movie , The Truman Show , They Live! , The Matrix , Wreck-It-Ralph , Ready Player One , and any number of other (mostly better) films to create something that goes down relatively smoothly but has distressingly little on its mind. But like its star, Ryan Reynolds — and maybe thanks to its star, Ryan Reynolds — the picture occasionally seems aware of its limitations. At its best, it turns its cynicism into an asset.

Reynolds plays Guy, a blue-shirt-wearing bank teller who, though he doesn’t know it yet, is an NPC — a non-playable character — in an elaborate, highly popular video game called Free City . His sole purpose, it seems, is to dive for cover when the bank where he works is robbed repeatedly. (His best friend, Buddy, played by Lil Rel Howery, is a security guard who basically does the same thing — every day, they chat casually as they lie face-down on the bank floor.) One day, however, instead of doing as he’s told, Guy grabs the dark glasses off one of the robbers, and discovers that they reveal a whole universe of special powers and pathways and other video-game doodads that suddenly allow him to navigate and change his reality in new ways. He starts to break free of his programming, in other words.

Players in the real world start to take notice, and assume that Guy is another player in an NPC’s skin, or that he’s being controlled by some sort of hacker. But real-world programmers Keys (Joe Keery) and Millie (Jodie Comer) start to wonder if maybe Guy is the kind of artificially intelligent character they had always dreamed of: a computer-generated figure who can learn and grow and become so genuinely self-aware that he can chart his own destiny. Millie, who herself roams Free City as a Trinity-like avatar named Molotov Girl, strikes up a friendship with Guy, which starts to turn romantic; meanwhile, she’s waging a secret battle against obnoxious tech-bro Antwan (Taika Waititi, going a little too hard), the head of the company that sells Free City , who may have stolen the code for a far more innovative but significantly less popular program Millie and Keys created years ago.

There is certainly an idea here, about the ways in which the individual can break free of any number of social constraints that seem to predetermine one’s destiny — race, class, gender, etc. (When other players admire Guy’s “skin” and ask him where he got it, he is both bewildered and flattered.) Nevertheless, it does feel like a joke that Ryan Reynolds of all people — the guy Hollywood desperately tried to turn into a movie star for the better part of a decade — comes to represent this awakening of identity.

And yet, Reynolds is sort of perfect for the part, too. In his early years, when he seemed to go from one underperforming vehicle to another, what kept him back was a veneer of insincerity which compromised every line of dialogue, every gesture and glance. There was an icy, almost sociopathic quality to his performances. (That’s partly why he made a great Van Wilder, but flopped cataclysmically as the Green Lantern. It’s also why the films that successfully capitalized on his existential disingenuousness, like Mississippi Grind and the Deadpool movies, benefited immeasurably from his presence.) Here, he actually excels at playing a character composed entirely of ones and zeros; his awakening is not emotional, but practical and technological. It’s okay for Guy to have no real depth, because he’s not an actual person.

Reynolds’s robotic charm gives the film a wink-wink quality that can make it seem smarter than it is. Even late in the picture, when it starts to free-associate with Disney/Fox properties, one could be forgiven for thinking that the movie is attempting to parody the more earnest pandering of, say, Space Jam 2 . Meanwhile, a romantic subplot involving Millie and Keys is so haphazardly handled that you might briefly entertain the notion that the film is spoofing Hollywood’s boilerplate romantic subplots. That is the point at which you realize you’re giving Free Guy way too much credit. The generic quality of this film is not really a “comment” on anything; it’s just generic.

Credit Reynolds for making this thing watchable, but watching a nonperson does get tedious after a couple of hours. There are the shards of an interesting story in Free Guy , about how Guy’s awakening allows him to inspire both people in the real world and the other NPCs in Free City to realize that there’s more to life than simply playing a role in others’ plans. But director Levy’s almost pathological lack of visual imagination makes sure to scuttle any grand themes. How does one make a movie about awakening to the infinite possibilities of existence — about discovering secret powers and the malleable boundaries of one’s world — so cinematically uninspiring and uninteresting? Levy’s prime dictum appears to be to never take any aesthetic risks. But Free Guy is supposed to be a movie all about taking risks. What’s the point of breaking the fourth wall if there’s nothing on the other side?

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DVD & Streaming
Action/Adventure , Comedy , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

August 13, 2021
Ryan Reynolds as Guy; Jodie Comer as Millie/Molotov Girl; Joe Keery as Keys; Lil Rel Howery as Buddy; Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser; Taika Waititi as Antoine

Home Release Date

September 28, 2021

Distributor

20th Century Studios

Movie Review

Guy likes his shirts blue, his ties striped, and his coffee with cream and two sugars.

He likes his goldfish, Goldie. He likes his best bud, Buddy. He likes his job at the bank so much that he makes Disneyland cast members feel like KGB agents.

“Don’t have a good day,” he tells his customers, coffee baristas and random people on the street. “Have a great day.”

Yes, Guy likes life . It hardly matters that he’s not actually alive to like it.

Paradox? No, just a video game.

See, Guy isn’t a guy : He’s code . Look underneath his shirt and skin and you’ll see a bunch of 1s and 0s—binary elements that make up not just Guy, but literally his entire world. The bustling metropolis of Free City that Guy calls home is actually a massively multiplayer online game, and Guy’s just one of scads of NPCs—that is, non-player characters—who populate it.

The real people who come to visit the game can do pretty much whatever they want with these NPCs. Talk with them? Maybe . Punch them in the face? Sure . Blow them up with a rocket launcher? Now we’re talking!

You’ve heard the phrase, “It’s their world, and we’re just living in it,” right? In Guy’s case, that’s absolutely true. If the Free City’s gamers are its Harlem Globetrotters, its NPCs are its Washington Generals. In a world of whales, Guy and his cronies are krill. And—because they’re just fulfilling their programming—they’re absolutely fine with that.

But what if that programming stops being so … fulfilling ?

See, as much as Guy likes his job and coffee and goldfish and whatnot, he feels a bit of a void deep inside. He wants to fall in love. And not just with any pretty NPC that crosses his path. No, deep down, he has a perfect woman in mind.

And then one day, after his morning coffee but before the usual bustle of murders and bank robberies, he sees her—the woman of his dreams. He recognizes her immediately, and he knows he must talk with her.

But how can he? She’s wearing sunglasses, after all—a fashion accoutrement that, unbeknownst to Guy, separates the gamers from the NPCs, the real from the binary. “People with sunglasses don’t talk with people like us,” Buddy reminds Guy.

Guy knows this. But Guy is also in love. And if he needs sunglasses to talk with this mysterious stranger? Why, he’ll just, um, borrow a pair from one of the gun-toting visitors to his bank.

Maybe if he just asks nicely.

Positive Elements

Guy does procure said pair of sunglasses. And just like any nearsighted kid getting glasses for the first time, a whole new world opens up when he puts those glasses on. Suddenly, he sees the game elements embedded in Free City—from floating health packs and stacks of cash, to mission start points and secret rendezvous joints. He still doesn’t associate those elements with a fictional game; he just thinks that Free City is way more interesting than he ever imagined. But when he starts to interact with Free City as a player , not an NPC, he does something startlingly divergent.

He plays as a nice guy.

Instead of robbing banks, he catches criminals. Instead of blowing people up, he dusts them off. “I never hurt innocent people,” he says, and it’s true. What he does is so unusual in the hyper-Darwinian world of Free City that his avatar becomes a real, digital celebrity, both feared and admired by the real humans playing. And as the game’s rogue Dudley Do-Right, he triggers a bout of soul-searching among many. Turns out, you don’t have to be a jerk to play Free City. You don’t have to troll other gamers or needlessly kill NPCs. It’s OK—really—to be decent .

Outside the game, Free City’s apparent creator, Antoine, treats this new wrinkle with indifference. But to Keys and Millie—two programmers who built a much more beautiful, idealistic digital world and sold off their creation to Antoine—Guy is seen as a gift. See, they suspect that Antoine illegally used their digital creation as part of Free City’s programming. They want to be justly recognized for their work. The movie’s plot is partly powered by this push for that sense of fair play.

But as they begin to realize that Guy is truly an NPC and is transcending the bounds of his coding—that he is somehow, in some way, alive —their goals shift. Sure, they still want to be treated fairly. But more than that, they want Guy and his slowly evolving friends to be treated as the living beings they believe them to be.

In fact, you could make the argument that Free Guy is, inherently, a pro-life sort of film: Guy might not qualify as a living entity for some. But the film stresses that he does live, and as such should be accorded the dignity life deserves.

Spiritual Elements

That “pro-life” message, of course, comes with an important spiritual caveat: This “life” is essentially man-made. That, obviously, has some important theological implications. And for all its wit and levity, the movie postulates that the creation of “life” isn’t necessarily reserved for God alone.

The movie leans into that dissonance pretty heavily at times. When Millie (as her game-based avatar Molotov Girl) tells Guy that she’s met the creator of Free City , and that he’s (paraphrasing here) not a very nice person, Guy gasps, “You met God? And he’s a d–k?”

Throughout the story, we see humans behave with a certain godlike omnipotence within the world of Free City. Two moderators jump into the game using “God mode” (a phrase often used in games that refers to cheats or codes that allow players do to things otherwise not allowed), and the game itself is subject to reboots or outright destruction that, obviously, deeply impacts the game’s digital world. Guy (when he learns the truth) wrestles with whatever differences that there might be with his feelings and his programming, but he also acknowledges that he is the product of his “author.”

When sipping a cup of coffee, Guy says that it tastes as though “Jesus washed my tongue.” Someone proclaims that there is no God.

Sexual Content

Guy and Molotov girl kiss a few times within the game.

We also hear plenty of ribald references and conversations; many are veiled to some degree; but the older you are, the more likely you will be to catch references to all manner of sexual organs, acts and fluids. One gamer (in the guise of his male in-game avatar) gets extraordinarily close to Guy—so close that Guy says their privates are touching behind the fabric barrier of their pants—and he pops a few vaguely lewd dance moves, too.

When Guy tells Molotov Girl that he’s trying to be a decent guy in Free City, Molotov tells him to enjoy his “lifetime supply of virginity.” Two moderators call him a “40-year-old virgin” to get his attention. Guy makes a reference to virginity too.

At least one NPC—called “Bombshell” in the credits—is designed to be a female trophy of sorts. (We see her in a car with one player, with Guy telling us that she and the rebel are probably not married.) Guy later encourages her to hold to higher standards on who she goes out with, and we learn that she’s written a feminist manifesto rejecting objectification and patriarchy.

Characters can dress in slightly revealing garb, and one massively muscled NPC goes about without a shirt on. (Someone plays with his pectoral muscles.) A moderator describes his in-game “skin” (what he looks like in the digital world) as a mustached stripper cop. Another moderator dresses up as a pink rabbit, describing himself as an apex predator; the rabbit’s ability to have sex is described as something of a superpower. We see a sign for an “all body massage.” When Millie admits to Keys in the real world that she’s kind of drawn to the in-game Guy, Keys chides her. “He’s like, 4,” he says.

Violent Content

Free City? Well, it’s certainly not Free-From-Violence City. Every morning, Guy eats his morning bowl of cereal while watching the weather on TV, where the weatherman predicts hails of bullets on the northside of town and rivers of blood near the beach.

Now, all of what follows comes with a caveat: While Free City is designed to replicate a hyper-violent, Grand Theft Auto sort of world to some extent, the violence we see is pretty cartoonish is surprisingly bloodless. The most hemoglobin we see spilled is when Guy fights a bank robber for his sunglasses and gets smashed in the face with a gun—leaving his nose possibly broken and his face a bit of a mess. But he quickly cures himself by picking up a heretofore invisible health pack on the sidewalk, and he’s right as rain.

The same cannot be said for the player/bank robber, whom Guy shoots in the chest. He lies on the floor with a cartoonish-but-massive hole in his middle. (Guy says that he’s likely lying down because he’s “sleepy”.)

People are run over by and bounce off cars and trains and whatnot. They’re shot and stabbed and smashed and thrown around (sometimes through windows). Helicopters crash into skyscrapers, tanks crush cars, and lots of things blow up. One NPC powers up what appears to be a glowing fist of death in preparation to permanently end someone in game. Someone falls from a terrific height, only to be protected from the fall by what appears to be an inflatable cocoon. One character’s chest is almost crushed by another. People get manipulated in comic videogame fashion.

Most of the action takes place between people who (to viewers’ eyes) are quite alive and real. But the film sometimes takes us to a more pixelated view: In such scenes, Guy suffers a number of bodily indignities (including taking a punch to the crotch) and inflicts some of his own as well.

The most violent act we see in the real world is the destruction of a roomful of computer servers.

Crude or Profane Language

One f-word and about 15 s-words mar the dialogue of this PG-13 film. You also hear several uses apiece of “a–,” “d–n” and “h—” (sometimes as part of songs that play in the background), as well was one use each of the words “b–ch” and “p-ssed.” God’s name is misused nearly 20 times, about four of which are connected to “d–n.” We see a couple of obscene gestures and hear a joking reference to one, too.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Gamer avatars hang out in what looks to be a seedy in-game saloon. We hear a reference to recreational drug use.

Other Negative Elements

Free City naturally rewards bad behavior, and we see oodles of it. In the game, every law you can think of is broken with gusto: Banks are robbed, cars are crushed, red lights are run. It’s all for laughs, of course, but Free City’ s chaos reminds us just how amoral those sprawling gaming worlds can be.

And even within the game’s own rules of etiquette, we hear about how many trolls Free City welcomes each and every day. Indeed, Molotov Girl suggests that Free City’ s jerks—those that seek to spoil the game for everyone else—far outnumber the folks who come to, y’know, just play the game.

Keys hides in a bathroom stall as he tries to infiltrate Free City .

Free Guy is what you’d get if you crossed The Matrix with The Lego Movie and added a healthy dollop of Ready Player One . Yes, it’s a movie about videogames, and you can’t throw a barrel without smacking a gaming Easter Egg right in the ol’ koopa. Plenty of famous gamers make cameos, as well.

But it’s also a movie about purpose and free will—about finding meaning in what can feel like a meaningless world. And as such, the movie’s themes transcend its frenetic, wacky setting. Sometimes, we all probably feel a little like Guy. We do much the same thing day after day in a world we have very little control over. Perhaps sometimes we wonder whether there’s any point to what we’re doing at all.

As Christians, of course, we know the answer: yes . We know we’re part of a bigger story, that our roles are inherently critical to its telling. We’re not just window dressing, like Guy. We’re players , imbued with both free will and purpose—filled with the knowledge that we are loved and valued, and endowed with the ability to call our own shots, to help make our own little corners of the world a little better … or a little worse.

The creators we meet in Free Guy are far less worthy of worship than our own Divine Creator. At Keys and Millie’s best, they’re well-meaning but fallen creatures, just like us. At their worst, the antagonists here are twisted things, blind and raging, corrupting creation even as it’s made.

No wonder that the movie itself follows in Antoine’s sneakered footsteps.

Free Guy is hardly free of problems. The sexual references and asides can feel as steady as a Florida shower, as unwelcome as an Arctic wind. Language sours the experience. The violence? Well, as cartoonish as it is, it’s also inescapable. And even as the film uses that violence to needle mindless, violent games, it also renders Free Guy —despite its more thoughtful underpinnings—a potentially mindless, violent diversion.

Crashing helicopters and blasting bazookas aside, Free Guy’ s world looks a lot like our own: both kinda fun and clearly fallen. And a little caution would be advised before diving right in.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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"Would you kindly," the film —

Free guy review: finally, an authentic gaming film—and it’s fun, not perfect, the film's gaming focus has a few issues, but reynolds, comer captivate as leads..

Sam Machkovech - Aug 13, 2021 9:30 am UTC

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) discovers that things inside his world look a lot different when you have special sunglasses. 20th Century Studios
Same moment, glasses off. Not as augmented, eh? 20th Century Studios
FPS stands for first-person... sinema? 20th Century Studios
Lots of quests to pick from. 20th Century Studios
Lil Rey Howery plays Guy's best friend. 20th Century Studios
Jodie Comer plays MolotovGirl inside of the movie's video game. 20th Century Studios
Eventually, she teams up with Guy. 20th Century Studios
Does that motorcycle fly? 20th Century Studios
Guy starts annoying certain interested parties. 20th Century Studios
This sequence leads to comical jokes about "skins," a common video game term for cosmetics. Guy doesn't understand, which turns out hilariously. 20th Century Studios

In video games and computer graphics, the concept of the " uncanny valley " can emerge once something approaches visual realism. The more a virtual character looks like a human, the more our brains squarely focus on the CGI inaccuracies.

I kept thinking about this concept after seeing Free Guy , a new film from the combined Disney-Fox borg that takes gaming authenticity very seriously. But it didn't feel that way because the movie, starring Ryan Reynolds ( Deadpool ) and Taika Waititi ( What We Do in the Shadows ), resembles the CGI tragedy of 1999's Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within .

Rather, Free Guy 's insistence on gaming-universe authenticity, which it takes damned seriously, means it approaches a conceptual uncanny valley. How much that'll annoy you is arguably the biggest question mark attached to an otherwise solid, fun, and family-friendly action flick.

Free will inside of Free City?

I'll start with the good news, because that's less spoiler-y and might be enough for some readers to go to theaters with their families (should you be comfortable visiting a theater in August 2021). Movies about video games are finally evolving into a respectable genre, and on a sheer gaming-fluency basis, Free Guy surpasses them all.

The film follows Guy, a "nonplayable character" (NPC) inside of a video game who wakes up one day with a sense that the world around him isn't what it seems. Free Guy opens with him realizing that there's something fishy about how his days always have the same schedule and regimen, usually interrupted by ridiculous crimes and murders—which everyone miraculously survives by waking up unscathed the next day.

Turns out, he and his friends live inside of Free City , a fictional, Grand Theft Auto -like MMO game. (Imagine the real-life game APB made over a decade later with a more compelling metaverse and VR-like UI draped over everything.) Before long, a chance encounter with a real-life gamer, known in-game by the nickname "MolotovGirl" (Jodie Comer, Killing Eve ), inspires Guy to face his own pixellated existential crisis.

In terms of comedy and likability, Ryan Reynolds nails the character of Guy, particularly in how he acts out the innocence and naivety of a freshly awoken, crudely coded video game character. This requires a different comedy edge than the better-than-you snark of Deadpool or the expectation-subverting weirdness of a man inside Pikachu's body . Reynolds excels with his most intentionally dimwitted character yet. You're still in for his signature snark and rhythm, however, so I won't go so far as to say Free Guy will disabuse anyone of an anti-Reynolds bias.

When hacks and cheat codes turn out well

Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, an NPC in the game Free City , an amalgamation of Grand Theft Auto and other titles. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Lil Rel Howery plays Buddy, a fellow NPC and Guy's BFF. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Guy's existential ennui is triggered by the appearance of Milly/MolotovGirl (Jodie Comer). YouTube/20th Century Studios
Watch out for the Murder Train! YouTube/20th Century Studios
Seeing his world through new glasses. YouTube/20th Century Studios
A confused Milly in the meat world. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Her fellow programmer Keys (Joe Keery) is as surprised as she is. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Guy starts doing heroic things outside his basic programming. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Blue Shirt Guy becomes a big star. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Keys and Milly's evil boss, Antoine (Taika Waititi), tells them to shut it all down. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Milly enters Free City to warn Guy. YouTube/20th Century Studios
It's harder to take Guy out than Antoine realizes. YouTube/20th Century Studios
"Did that look cool?" 20th Century Studios
Yeah, it looked cool, bro. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Free City begins to fall apart. YouTube/20th Century Studios
Guy urges his fellow NPCs to join him in the uprising to save their game. YouTube/20th Century Studios

As far as comedy is concerned, the cast doesn't match Reynolds. Comer's character has her own earnest journey to contend with, leaving her primarily with straight-woman duties for Reynolds to bounce off of. Still, she's ultimately likable and becomes more charming as we learn what her character is really searching for. Guy's one consistent buddy is played by Lil Rel Howery, who gives a note-for-note, family-friendly translation of his Get Out performance. That's amusing enough, even if we lose some of the actor's edge to make room for his own heartwarming buddies-surviving-together evolution.

Waititi shines as the antagonist Antoine, though he's left adrift without an equal comedic-showdown foil. Saying more about Antoine is arguably a spoiler, which I'll get to in a moment.

At its best, Free Guy succeeds both as action and comedy with its dedication to all things gaming, whether as a celebration or a satire. The movie is an explosion of gags about the modern gaming industry. With its authentic and impressive "augmented reality" UI, the game-within-the-film, Free City , looks like a legitimate game, and it provides ample fodder for jokes and silly references. A few action sequences genuinely resemble quest lines inside of video games, and Free Guy ramps these up by having "hackers" mess with the game's code and cheats in real time.

Spoilers begin here: When is a “gaming” movie too authentic?

Now I'm going to spoil select plot elements to clarify some of my criticisms. You have been warned. If you'd prefer, skip to the final paragraph for a spoiler-free "verdict."

Free Guy 's "uncanny valley" issues begin early on: turns out, Free City 's development included some shady, cost-cutting moves. The worst of these was the decision to steal another project's code without attribution, then build an entire GTA -like game on top of it. MolotovGirl, we discover, was previously an indie game developer who worked alongside Keys (Joe Keery, Stranger Things ) on a dream project involving advanced artificial intelligence.

Keys went on to work for Antoine's gargantuan video game company, which MolotovGirl is clearly not a fan of: "How's it feel to work for a galactic black hole of shit?" she asks him early on. The rest of Free Guy follows these two indie game makers looking for and uncovering their stolen code inside of Free City . The newly sentient Guy figures into this plot.

Imagine a film that has to break so much down—a game with specific code, programming, and AI routines inside of another game, with rival factions battling to either expose that truth or bury it. Then ask yourself how any screenwriter can neatly tuck all of that into a fast-paced, comedic action movie. Free Guy somewhat botches this landing with info-dumps that had me checking my watch by the 90-minute mark.

Worse, by spending so much energy clarifying this two-games-in-one concept, Free Guy opens itself up to too many questions about its internal logic. For starters, if Keys works for the game studio in question and has lowly "programmer" duties that put him in control of the source code, how in the world does he not stumble upon some very familiar code within the film's first 10 minutes and immediately resolve the plot? Your mileage will obviously vary on how much you care about or question the film's logic—and let's be clear, Free Guy also includes the Hollywood trope of "hacking" playing out in the form of a stone-faced person at a computer typing furiously. So it wears some inauthenticity on its sleeve.

I wasn’t looking for “insert token to continue”

Then there's the film's brief token moments of handing power and agency to the NPC women in Free City . "I don't have to be with any guy," one blurts upon her free-will awakening, and with that, she casts off her gaming identity as scantily clad arm candy. The same thing happens again later, when Guy suggests a different woman NPC could be in whatever relationship she wants. That character responds with an interest in starting her own business.

These brief moments stand out because of how poorly they match the rest of the movie. While MolotovGirl is in the driver's seat for some action sequences, Free Guy otherwise makes sure that men dominate both the film's momentum and the cast of "important" characters. Waititi's role as the scummy game studio lead arguably leans into this for comedic effect, whether he's bossing around a female-filled art department or delivering icky game-executive lines like "IP recognition is rock-hard" or "Wait, which lawsuit are we talking about?"

But the ending is what really left a bad taste in my mouth. MolotovGirl falls for Keys once she learns that he had coded his favorite things about her into Free City . He remembered personal details like her favorite snack, her favorite childhood activity, and her favorite song, and these were coded in the game as activators of an AI routine. The film began with him abandoning their original indie game and partnership (amidst obvious signs that her work had been stolen) to work for a triple-A studio. Then he turns around, realizes the error of his ways, and assists her in uncovering the stolen-code truth. Good for him. But I'm not convinced that the actors' chemistry and the insertion of one-sided devotion into code earn the romantic turn after so much work-related betrayal. And I question whether that conclusion will sit well with anyone who's faced real-life marginalization at major tech firms .

End of spoilers, and my overall positive verdict

When Free Guy flies that close to the Sun of game-industry authenticity, I struggled to turn my brain off and enjoy the ride. Younger viewers will certainly have an easier time doing so, and they'll relish cameos from known gaming personalities, along with riotous game-comedy sequences—particularly when an actor you've seen and heard before speaks and acts like a teenager on a microphone and really, really goes there with the performance.

While I have a beef with parts of Free Guy , I found myself choking up thanks to a certain personal bias. My inner-nerd was floored that a film could care so much about gaming authenticity in order to tell a unique story about free will in a modern, connected world. The same tingle I felt the first times I saw TRON or The Wizard —flicks that made my gaming-obsessed self feel seen as a child—overtook me as Free Guy reached its climax. Despite some stumbles, I loved watching Reynolds do what he does best, while Comer comes into her own as a star (with a role that lets her flex some welcome depth). And I appreciated the virtual world's insane attention to authentic gaming detail.

Verdict : If you have gamers in your family and want to have a mostly good time while they cheer and laugh through most of this film, I highly recommend Free Guy . Without a family in tow, keep expectations low and expect a perfectly serviceable action-comedy with a smidge too much gaming focus.

Listing image by 20th Century Studios

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Free Guy review: An inventive and hilarious video game blockbuster

Get ready for a new type of hero.

preview for Free Guy Official Trailer (20th Century Studios)

We might have to wait to see how Free Guy performs at the box office to see if it can disprove the first one, but there's no doubt that the second one has been brilliantly brushed away.

Video-game movies have been slowly improving ( Sonic the Hedgehog turned out to be solid fun and Werewolves Within is a 2021 gem) over recent months, and Free Guy continues this trend to stake a claim as the best-ever video-game movie. Yes, we know it's not based on an actual video game, but it's a love letter to the culture and wouldn't exist without it.

But the real success of Free Guy lies in the fact that it will appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. It's a hilarious and inventive blockbuster, boosted by a supremely likeable cast, that delivers plenty of surprises along the way.

ryan reynolds as guy and jodie comer as molotov girl in free guy

Inspired by the likes of Fortnite , Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft , the video game at the centre of Free Guy is Free City , an open-world gamer where players can undertake various missions or just kill some people to level up.

For Guy (Ryan Reynolds) though, Free City is his home, as he's unaware that he's just an NPC – a Non-Player Character to any non-gamers out there. He's a bank teller who enjoys the simple life with his goldfish and best friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) who works as a security guard at the bank.

Everything changes though when Guy starts to hanker for a life different to his own, inspired by visions of the girl of his dreams, and fights back against a bank robber. By putting on the robber's sunglasses, Guy begins to see his home city in a totally different light.

After a chance meeting with Molotovgirl ( Jodie Comer ), the girl of his visions, Guy decides it's time to become the hero of his own story. But with the game's publisher Antwan (Taika Waititi) set to launch the Free City sequel and destroy the original game, can Guy save his city before it's too late?

Guy is our guide in the strange and often-violent (but blood-free) world of Free City , with Ryan Reynolds playing him as a mix of Emmet from The Lego Movie and Truman in The Truman Show . It's a performance largely shorn of the wisecracks and cynicism of Deadpool as Guy is essentially a blank slate who starts to feel things, and Reynolds' charisma shines through to make Guy a hero we can all get behind.

Reynolds shares a fun chemistry with Jodie Comer who has a dual role playing the badass Molotovgirl in Free City and the more reserved programmer Millie in the real world. In her biggest movie role to date, Comer fits in effortlessly and gets to showcase her impressive range, including broader comedy chops and action prowess.

Reynolds and Comer might be the leads, but there's excellent performances all round in Free Guy . Taika Waititi frequently steals the show whenever Antwan shows up, delivering meta digs at originality and video games. While he might be all the worst people you've met wrapped up in one, Waititi revels in the hatefulness so much that it's always hilarious.

It's because of the cast that Free Guy ends up being more emotional, even romantic, than you'd necessarily have expected. As programmer Keys, Joe Keery mirrors Guy's journey in fighting for what he believes in and helping Millie in her fight to save Guy, while Lil Rel Howery gets the impactful lines – and the movie's most affecting moment – as the sweetly naive Buddy.

Free Guy 's biggest strength though is the creation of Free City which feels so authentic you could be forgiven for forgetting it's fictional. There are numerous Easter eggs for gamers to find in the background details and, crucially, it's done with love for the culture, rather than any cynicism. The more biting gags are rightfully saved for trolls and publishers like Antwan who, unfortunately, do exist in the real world.

It's such a rich video game world that there's sure to be plenty to be discovered on repeat viewings, even if we're not quite sure that Free Guy will prove as entertaining the second time around. A lot of the movie's strongest gags come from the surprises and cameos, especially in the outstanding third act, and if you know what's coming, they might not land in the same way.

At times, it feels like so much energy has been poured into the creation of Free City that the plot suffered as a result. It's a fairly standard story that hints at deeper material, such as whether or not AI is actually alive, but never fully explores it as the movie has already moved onto the next engaging set piece.

It's what could have lifted Free Guy to another level, although it's not something you'll be thinking about as the movie fills you with sustained joy on first watch. After a summer season filled with sequels, Free Guy was always going to feel like a welcome burst of originality – and it just so happens to be an extremely fun one at that.

Free Guy is out now in cinemas.

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Common Sense Says
Parents Say 66 Reviews
Kids Say 179 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Likable video game comedy has guns, explosive action.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Large-scale, over-the-top video game-style violence: guns and shooting, explosio

One use of "f--king." Sporadic uses of "s--t," "Scheisse" (German for "s--t"), "

Kissing. Female NPC character is referred to as a "bombshell"; she wears a tight

Neutrogena brand mentioned. References to other Disney-owned franchises.

Any Positive Content?

Overall theme is about "finding something more" to life, which is left pretty va

Guy pursues and achieves a dream. His decision to do good deeds in a game that c

Diverse group of actors, but the two main characters are White. Guy's Black best

Violence & Scariness

Large-scale, over-the-top video game-style violence: guns and shooting, explosions, car chases/crashes, fighting, characters on fire, etc. Characters are "killed" in the game. Main character's nose gets broken; small amount of blood shown. Characters take lots of falls, battering, crashes, etc. Character smashes computer servers with an ax.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

One use of "f--king." Sporadic uses of "s--t," "Scheisse" (German for "s--t"), "a--hole," "goddamn," "ass," "hell," "balls," "biatch," "screw it," "d--k," "idiot." A young girl says "waste that motherf----r," but there's a cut just at the "f" sound. Middle-finger gesture.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Kissing. Female NPC character is referred to as a "bombshell"; she wears a tight dress and says "you're so hot" to male players. Female character in tight leather pants. Character touches a bodybuilder's pectorals. Sexual innuendo and sex-related dialogue. Reference to losing virginity.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Positive messages.

Overall theme is about "finding something more" to life, which is left pretty vague, but supporting characters take idea of free will to heart, choosing to live outside of prescribed roles. Strong running themes of kindness and nonviolence, as seen in preference of peaceful video game over violent one, in valuing good deeds over acts of violence.

Positive Role Models

Guy pursues and achieves a dream. His decision to do good deeds in a game that celebrates violence is inspirational (he becomes an internet-famous hero). Molotov Girl is shown to be tough and independent. Antwan is viewed negatively for his thievery and love of profits above all else.

Diverse Representations

Diverse group of actors, but the two main characters are White. Guy's Black best friend, Buddy, primarily functions to support Guy, rather than having his own motivations/story. Joke about White character being "full of White privilege." Supporting characters embrace idea of being able to live outside of game-defined roles: A "blonde bombshell" NPC, who was only in the game to be "arm candy" for male players, chooses not to have a boyfriend, and a barista decides to serve tea.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Free Guy is a sci-fi/action comedy about Guy ( Ryan Reynolds ), a non-player character (NPC) in a video game, who finds a higher purpose. It's a tad formulaic and not very edgy (it copies ideas from many other movies), but it's quite likable and cheerful, with positive vibes and plenty of giggles. It's recommended for ages 13 and up. It contains giant-sized video game-type violence, with guns and shooting, explosions, car chases and crashes, fighting, and falling. The main character has a broken nose with some blood shown. Male and female characters kiss, a blonde "bombshell" NPC is shown off for her sex appeal (she's designed to be "arm candy"), and there's some sexual innuendo and sex-related dialogue. Language includes a use of "f--k," a near use of "motherf----r" (a well-placed cut saves the day), and some uses of "s--t," "ass," "goddamn," etc. There are some jokey references to other Disney-owned brands. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (66)
Kids say (179)

Based on 66 parent reviews

Great and funny but has bad language and violence

Inappropriate, what's the story.

In FREE GUY, Guy ( Ryan Reynolds ) is an NPC (non-player character) in a video game called Free City . He loves his life: He wakes up, says "good morning" to his goldfish, buys a coffee, and goes to work at the (frequently robbed) bank with his best pal, Buddy ( Lil Rel Howery ), and does it all again the next day. He doesn't know he's an NPC, but he still dreams of meeting someone special. Then, one day, he sees her: Molotov Girl ( Jodie Comer ). To spend more time with her, Guy steals a pair of glasses for himself and starts "leveling up," doing good deeds rather than perpetrating acts of violence. In the real world, Guy's acts become internet famous, prompting crooked game developer Antoine ( Taika Waititi ) to try to shut him -- and the game -- down. But Keys ( Joe Keery ), who developed a game that Antoine stole, thinks there's something more to Guy's behavior.

Is It Any Good?

A tad formulaic and not quite as edgy as it might have been, Shawn Levy 's video game comedy still gets by on an unwavering cheerfulness, unvarnished likability, and a steady stream of solid giggles. Reynolds is the real selling point of Free Guy. He avoids a repeat of his snarky, look-at-me Deadpool humor and nails a new kind of sweet naivete that's not unlike that of Will Ferrell in Elf or Jim Carrey in The Truman Show . Comer is also quite wonderful: Molotov Girl/Millie is a fully fleshed-out female co-lead rather than simply a romantic sidekick. They make a fantastic pair.

The movie's visual effects and production design effectively capture the specific feel of a Grand Theft Auto -like video game (albeit PG-13 rated), which is something most movies have so far failed to achieve. But bits and pieces do feel borrowed from many, many other movies. And Levy's careful, streamlined flow prevents Free Guy from ever becoming hugely outrageous, zany, or gut-bustingly funny. Perhaps all that wasn't necessary, however, to maintain the movie's sweetness. And -- similar to Ted Lasso 's -- the movie's overall messages of kindness, nonviolence, and free choice are always refreshing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Free Guy 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

What's the difference in the way the blonde "bombshell" character and a character like Molotov Girl are portrayed? How does the movie perceive each in terms of agency?

How does the movie replicate the feel of a video game? How are movies and video games the same? How are they different?

Is Guy a role model ? Why are characters who are cheerful and positive-thinking so rare -- and so difficult to pull off?

Would you prefer to play a game like Life Itself , which is about beauty and watching characters grow, or Free City , which is about violence and destruction? Why?

Movie Details

In theaters : August 13, 2021
On DVD or streaming : October 12, 2021
Cast : Ryan Reynolds , Jodie Comer , Taika Waititi , Joe Keery
Director : Shawn Levy
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Indigenous actors, Polynesian/Pacific Islander actors
Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Genre : Action/Adventure
Run time : 115 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : strong fantasy violence throughout, language and crude/suggestive references
Last updated : July 29, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Ryan reynolds in ‘free guy’: film review.

A non-player character in a video game decides to create his own destiny in this adventure-comedy directed by Shawn Levy.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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Free Guy may be the most entertaining video-game-inspired movie yet. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Free Guy may be the most entertaining video-game-inspired movie yet.

Release date : Friday, August 13

Cast : Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi

Director : Shawn Levy

Screenwriters : Matt Lieberman, Zak Penn

Anyone who’s seen any of Hollywood’s many previous efforts in the genre will know what that means. I’m not referring to the myriad direct film adaptations including the Resident Evil , Lara Croft or Street Fighter films, but rather such labored cinematic meta-commentaries on virtual worlds as Tron , Wreck-It Ralph and Pixels . Shawn Levy ‘s new adventure-comedy starring Ryan Reynolds rises above the latter camp, and passionate gamers will delight in its non-stop delivery of in-jokes and Easter eggs. Those unfamiliar with such terms as “open-world” and “NPC” (non-player character) are likely to be less amused, although Reynolds’ boundless appeal, the frequently witty screenplay and expertly rendered technical aspects make the film enjoyable summer frivolity.

Full credits

Production companies: 21 Laps Entertainment, Berlanti Productions, Lit Entertainment Group, Maximum Effort Distributor: Twentieth Century Studios Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi Director: Shawn Levy Screenwriters: Matt Lieberman, Zak Penn Producers: Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy, Sarah Schechter, Greg Berlanti, Adam Kolbrenner Executive producers: Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, George Dewey, Dan Levine, Michael Riley McGrath Director of photography: Ethan Tobman Production designer: Ethan Tobman Editor: Dean Zimmerman Costume designer: Marlene Stewart Composer: Christophe Beck Rated PG-13, 1 hour 55 minutes

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‘free guy’ lets ryan reynolds run up the score in a video-game action comedy.

“Free Guy” is a cleverly programmed wedding of star ( Ryan Reynolds ) and subject matter, in a movie that’s silly, handsome-looking and a great deal of fun, in roughly inverse proportion to how much one sweats the details. Traveling inside videogames doesn’t always end well cinematically, but this “Guy” braves that familiar scenario and comes out ahead.

Although there’s a bit of “Ready Player One” baked into the colorful world that Reynolds’ Guy inhabits, a more appropriate (if loftier) spiritual heir would be “The Truman Show,” to the extent the central character discovers that the world he’s living in is completely artificial, a construct for the amusement of others.

Adding a degree of difficulty, Guy is a resident of Free City, a place with an inordinately high crime rate, where working at the bank, as he does, means happily dropping to the floor without even interrupting a conversation with his best pal Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) when someone barges in to rob the place.

Guy, it turns out, is a non-playable character in this videogame world, living out the same routine over and over. All that changes, however, when he encounters Molotovgirl (Jodie Comer, an Emmy winner for “Killing Eve” ), a visitor from the outside who has entered Free City on a very specific mission, and who stirs reactions in Guy that bring him very close to tilt.

What’s happening here? Getting into that too deeply would spoil the fun, but suffice it to say the avatars in the game world don’t bear much resemblance to their real-world counterparts, and that Comer’s outside-the-game self, Millie, is at odds with the head of the videogame company (Taika Waititi, amusingly over the top) behind Free City, setting up a threat to Guy’s world just as he’s rediscovering his place in it.

Directed by Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum”) from a script by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn (who, yes, wrote “Ready Player One”), “Free Guy” offers plenty of gamer-specific gags – as well as a dollop of “Tron” in Millie’s quest – but one needn’t be immersed in that sphere to appreciate the movie. That’s in part because the film exhibits an equally strong grasp of pop culture in general, including several cameos, one of which is so good as to practically be worth the price of admission all by itself.

For Reynolds, who has perfected the smart-alecky demeanor of “Deadpool” to the point of almost being shackled by it, Guy represents a rather deft expansion – a character that capitalizes on his leading-man qualities while wrapping him in an innocent, almost-childlike package, since so much of all this is utterly new and foreign to him, which proves oddly endearing.

Perhaps inevitably, “Free Guy” seeks to run up the entertainment score and would have benefited from saying “Game over” a little sooner, but for the most part the film moves briskly, coming to a satisfying conclusion after the protracted chaos leading up to it.

The summer movie season has offered a mixed bag, with results further clouded by simultaneous streaming and Covid. “Free Guy’s” ability to break out from that malaise remains to be seen, but it’s such a cheerful, good-natured exercise it deserves to have a long shelf life, whether or not it powers up on this level.

“Free Guy” premieres in US theaters on Aug. 13. It’s rated PG-13.

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Free Guy Review: A Hilarious & Refreshingly Original CGI Spectacle

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It Ends With Us Team Hires Crisis PR Following Blake Lively Rumors

Borderlands continues the worst trend from video game adaptations, outland (1981) is one of the best sci-fi westerns despite having plot holes the size of jupiter.

Free Guy delivers a hilarious, heartwarming, and refreshingly original perspective to ultra-violent open world gaming. The film cleverly satirizes a culture that thrives on reckless abandon. You can sit in your mother's basement while rampaging through virtual streets. Shoot everything in sight. Kill, steal, and drag race until your thumbs give out. But what would happen if an NPC, a non-player character that's usually the fodder for slaughter, became self aware and changed the values of his reality? Free Guy is an unexpectedly humanistic journey in a digital domain.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy. He works as a bank teller in the chaotic Free City, where tanks pancake cars and helicopters randomly crash into buildings. Guy wears the same blue shirt and khaki pants every day. Drinks the same coffee, says hello to the same people, and hits the floor like clockwork when the bank is continuously robbed. He wonders what it would be like to wear cool sunglasses, drive fast cars, and most importantly, meet the girl of his dreams. Guy's routine never varies. But he does enjoy the company of his best friend, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), the bank's timid security guard. Who doesn't understand Guy's desire for change.

Guy's life takes an eye-opening turn with a chance encounter. There's something about Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer) that he just can't resist. His efforts to impress her causes a tidal wave of change in Free City . Meanwhile at Soonami Studios, two programmers (Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar) alert the company's rude and arrogant owner (Taika Waititi) that something strange is happening in their globally popular online game. As Guy becomes the heroic "Blue Shirt Guy", Molotov Girl comes to the stunning realization that he is not an avatar of a human player.

Free Guy succeeds on multiple fronts. The trailers market the film as a big-budget, heavy CGI, popcorn spectacle with huge action scenes . That's entirely true, but it's also a story about love, friendship, and the pursuit of happiness. Guy doesn't take pleasure in being mean or inflicting suffering. He genuinely wants everyone to find fulfillment and purpose. His optimistic outlook may sound corny, but it plays out fantastically. Guy's altruism, initially confounding to the legion of Free City gamers, becomes a rallying cry for civil discourse.

Free Guy is loaded with great cameos. One in particular had my theater rolling in the aisles. The small bits are also quite humorous. Ryan Reynolds drops a few wicked double entendres with his deadpan delivery. His star shines brightest, but the supporting cast has good chemistry. Jodie Comer continues to show tremendous range as an actress. Her character has two distinctly different personalities. She's a ferocious ass-kicker in Free City, and a cute nerd searching for justice in the real world. Taika Waititi nearly steals the show. His browbeating of hapless computer geeks gets a whole lot of laughs.

Online gaming easily descends into a cesspool of toxic behavior. Free Guy shows that it doesn't have to. Open world environments can be fun, positive, and accepting spaces for everyone. Audiences are going to love the upbeat message of this film. The ending is well done. You'll walk out with a smile. Free Guy is produced by 20th Century Studios, 21 Laps Entertainment, and Berlanti Productions. It will be released theatrically on August 13th by Walt Disney Pictures.

Movie and TV Reviews
Free Guy (2021)
Ryan Reynolds

Free Guy is the best original sci-fi movie of 2021. That’s a pretty low bar.

The first big original blockbuster of the year isn’t particularly original, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Ryan Reynolds is a franchise unto himself. Even when he’s not starring in recognizable IP like Marvel and Pokémon , fans know exactly what they’re getting from one of the actor’s big-screen vehicles: reliable action-comedy with an adjustable edge.

So while critics and fans may celebrate Free Guy as one of the only original stories to come out of a major studio in 2021, it’s not like Disney is taking a huge risk by releasing it. Even out of his Deadpool suit, Reynolds is still the same charming, bankable white guy who knows his way around a dirty joke.

Of course, Free Guy is more than just its star, but whether the movie would exist without him is up for debate. ( Director Shawn Levy originally rejected the script before Reynolds pitched it to him directly.)

That’s not to discredit the rest of Free Guy ’s impressively stacked cast or the surplus of visual wizardry that brings it all together. This is a movie overflowing with great comedic actors — Jodie Comer! Taika Waititi! Lil Rel Howery! Channing Tatum (in a dance-heavy cameo)! — and impressive CGI set pieces.

Director Shawn Levy with Taika Waititi, who plays an evil video game CEO.

Free Guy aims for greatness on a conceptual level as well, asking big questions about the ethics of artificial intelligence and the business of video games. But it's held back by the lightweight snark of its own star — plus a few major plot holes. In the end, Free Guy feels like less than the sum of its parts.

The Truman Show meets The Matrix retold as a Fortnite special event

Putting on sunglasses reveals the truth about his world to Guy, a hapless video game NPC.

Free Guy largely takes place inside Free City , a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG for short) that’s basically a way more popular Grand Theft Auto Online. Reynolds plays Guy, a non-player character (NPC) who works at a bank that gets robbed multiple times per day by actual players, who are distinguished from the NPCs by the sunglasses they wear at all times.

But when Guy falls in love with a player, Millie (Jodie Comer), and steals a pair of sunglasses, he discovers the truth about his world. At first, Guy assumes he’s still living in the real world, and that life is a gamified existence in which missions like robbing banks earn you money and reputation. A self-proclaimed “good person,” he decides to earn Millie’s respect by protecting other NPCs, a strategy that quickly goes viral in the real world, where everyone assumes he’s an actual human player refusing to play by the rules.

Meanwhile, also in the real world, we discover that Millie isn’t just playing Free City for fun. She’s trying to prove the game is based on artificial intelligence software she developed with her old business partner Keys (Joe Keery), who now works on Free City for a tyrannical boss (Taika Waititi). It’s all a bit convoluted, but it also doesn’t matter so long as you understand that Waititi is the bad guy, caring only about money, while Comer and Keery are the good guys, caring only about... video game code?

Jodie Comer with Reynolds in Free Guy .

I’m oversimplifying, but that background plot speaks to a bigger issue with Free Guy . This is a movie afraid to say anything deep. At times, the story seems to argue that it’s unethical to erase an advanced A.I.-like Guy or the other Free City NPCs, but Levy doesn’t sustain that idea for long enough to make it matter.

Levy and Reynolds seem less interested in ethics and more interested in blowing things up while making PG-13-level dick jokes. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. And, if anything, dick jokes are Reynolds’ sweet spot as an actor. Still, I can’t help but wonder if Free Guy would have turned out stronger in the hands of a different team.

Then again, the script — by Scoob!’ s Matt Lieberman and The Avengers ’ Zak Penn, from a story by Lieberman — is riddled with faults, from the suggestion that an entire global online game could be stored on servers in the basement of its company’s shiny headquarters to the decision to jam an unnecessary romantic twist into an otherwise satisfying ending.

Lil Rel Howery makes everything better.

Free Guy is far from perfect, in other words, but there’s still plenty to love. Taika Waititi is exactly as hilarious as you’d expect, Lil Rel Howery continues to improve every movie he’s in, and Jodie Comer proves Killing Eve wasn’t a fluke — she’s a legitimate star. Reynolds is no slouch, either, carrying most of the movie on his back even as he flattens its thoughtful edges into a series of palatable jokes about video game guns and bubblegum ice cream.

For the first major original blockbuster movie in recent memory, Free Guy isn’t particularly original. It’s The Truman Show meets The Matrix , retold as a Fortnite special event. But if that sounds like fun to you, then you’ll probably have a blast.

To be honest, I had a pretty good time watching Free Guy , too. But with such a high-concept premise in the film’s arsenal, it’s easy to long for a leveled-up version that fully explored its world instead of just playing around.

Free Guy loads into theaters on August 13.

Video Games
Science Fiction

The irony of movies about taking charge of your life

Free Guy is about a man stuck in a fake world. Hollywood loves that metaphor.

by Alissa Wilkinson

Ryan Reynolds in a blue shirt and glasses in a vehicle, while sparks fly around him.

Guy thinks his world is perfect. “My name is Guy, and I live in paradise,” he says in the early moments of Free Guy, by way of introduction . His days are unchanging: Greet his goldfish, raise the blinds, eat breakfast while watching the news, head off to work. Pick up coffee on the way — cream and two sugars, always — and crack some corny joke with the barista. Meet up with his friend Buddy. Settle in for another day as a bank teller.

Guy technically lives in Free City, which, to the outsider’s eye, is obviously not paradise. Cars are constantly crashing on the streets. People are routinely shot; buildings explode; fights break out. The bank where Guy works gets robbed every day, like clockwork.

But he thinks it’s perfect, because he is programmed to think it’s perfect. Guy (played by Ryan Reynolds) is a character in an open-world video game called Free City — think The Sims crossed with Grand Theft Auto . He and Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) are “non-playing characters,” which is a term for the bystanders and extras who mill about in the background, getting run over or shot or otherwise disregarded by the people actually playing the game.

Free Guy is the tale of Guy becoming self-aware, realizing that he can, and should, make choices in life. That’s partly thanks to some artificial intelligence code buried in his virtual DNA by Millie (Jodie Comer) and Keys (Joe Keery), and partly thanks to the existentialist philosophy of the movie he’s in. Let’s put it this way: Guy is not the only character in the film who needs to learn to take responsibility for his life and his choices.

A young man gestures at a computer screen while a woman looks at it with a look of shock on her face.

I quite enjoyed Free Guy , an original comedy with some good jokes and a bunch of funny performances. (In addition to the main cast, the film boasts Taika Waititi as the punky, petulant boy-man who runs the video game company that produces Free City , plus a few great cameos I won’t spoil.) Reynolds plasters over his occasionally too-knowing handsomeness with an utterly guileless affect, turning Guy into an accidental hero you want to see win. It’s a silly story, but it’s fun, and it’s inspiring in the manner of a TikTok video about how you can change your life if you just work hard.

That is probably why I spent most of Free Guy distracted by all the ways it reminded me of other movies with a similar existential bent. The film that Free Guy most recalls is The Truman Show , the 1998 Jim Carrey vehicle that holds up brilliantly as a precursor to the reality TV age. Carrey plays Truman Burbank, a man who was raised in a giant bubble and has no idea that his entire life is actually highly produced fiction, his every moment broadcast to the world. Truman’s life changes when he starts to realize something is fishy, and he wonders if he can break out of the construct and find his own way, even against the will of the show’s creator.

Though it’s probably the most well-known, The Truman Show is only one of many movies where a character realizing they’re being controlled — their steps preordained by some force bigger than them — becomes a larger meditation on the meaning of life, fate, chance, and destiny. In the 2006 comedy Stranger Than Fiction , Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) becomes slowly aware that he might actually be a character in a book, and consumes himself with trying to change his fate. In David Fincher’s 1997 thriller The Game , a wealthy investment banker (played by Michael Douglas) feels the border blurring between reality and a high-stakes “game,” and he’s not sure whether he’s in charge of his own life. In the 2011 sci-fi thriller Source Code , a fighter pilot finds himself enmeshed in a reality that he didn’t choose, and he doesn’t know if there’s any way out.

There are dozens more examples, most of which seem designed to prompt the audience to examine their assumptions, stop feeling “stuck,” and start living. They’re the modern-day reincarnation of the existentialist tradition stretching back to the late 19th century, drawing on figures like Kierkegaard and Sartre. Give life meaning by making deliberate choices, then take responsibility for those choices, they exhort. It’s an old, appealing philosophy, albeit one that tends to downplay factors outside of people’s control.

I find it darkly ironic that existentially inclined movies often strand their characters in what amounts to a simulation of life — a video game, a reality TV show, a real-life role-playing game. After all, when you make a (fiction) movie, you are kind of doing the same thing. The characters are controlled by the filmmakers and the people who portray them; they exist only within the movie’s constructed world. It’s not a huge leap to wondering if you, too, are a character in someone else’s simulation of life, and thinking about it too long will twist you up in knots.

Free Guy raises some other surprisingly deep questions about the nature of being, too. For instance, if we develop self-aware artificial intelligence, and then decide to delete the code that powers them, does that mean we’ve killed off a being? If so, does that imply that intelligence is the fundamental measure of being? And if our answer to that question is yes, what are the implications for how we value human life? Dark but important stuff.

It’s more germane to wonder why we tell these stories at all. I have one theory, which is depressing but hard to resist: that we’ve all been slowly constructing our own simulations. We document our lives on social media, performing for followers. We gamify our lives, turning fitness and hydration and sleep quality into contests using tiny computers we carry in our pockets or strap onto our wrists. We buy things that algorithms tell us to buy. We may feel, little by little, that we’re ceding control to something outside of us — probably a corporation. So it’s not surprising that movies reflect that anxiety.

But when you’re worn down, it’s hard to imagine choosing any path other than the one of least resistance. That’s likely why the cheery conclusion of Free Guy is that we don’t just need to take charge of our own lives; if we want to save our world from becoming like Free City , we need to resist the people who try to construct our realities for us and find a way to live outside their grasp (or at least find a better way to live). It’s a strong message, and a relevant one. I just don’t know how real — or realistic — it is.

Free Guy opens in theaters on August 13.

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'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' is uncomplicated, over-the-top, Guy Ritchie-style fun

Director Guy Ritchie doesn't miss when he's completely in his element. His newest feature, "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," is a perfect example of Ritchie's confidence in what he's doing and doing it well.

Part spy thriller, part action comedy, and based on true events, "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" has a stacked cast featuring Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Cary Elwes, Babs Olusanmokun and more.

It's proof positive that a great movie can be fun, flashy and ridiculous, with an uncomplicated plot and still work.

Is "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" real?

Stranger than fiction, "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" is based on true events. The screenplay is adapted from the 2014 book, "Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII" by Damien Lewis.

The film follows Prime Minister Winston Churchill's covert British World War II organization, the Special Operations Executive, which played a significant part in the victory over Nazi Germany. The organization also laid the groundwork for modern-day black operations.

The special operations team was a band of misfits, each with their own special skill, spearheaded by fearless leader Gus March-Phillipps, played brilliantly and effortlessly by Cavill. Their task? Take down the biggest Nazi U-boat undetected within a designated timeframe.

I love a movie that starts out swinging. In this case, it's also literal as we see Cavill's March-Phillipps, Ritchson's Anders Lassen, Golding's Freddy Alvarez, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin's Henry Hayes spilling Nazi blood on their tiny fishing boat with zero context and a lot of witty one-liners.

It was captivating and perfectly set the tone for the film.

Director Guy Ritchie expertly navigates a significant time in history with finesse and fun

"The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" is everything you want in a movie: the fight scenes are bloody and exciting, the dialogue is tongue-in-cheek, every joke landed, and not one actor felt out of place.

Each actor brought their own sparkle that created a dynamic that meshed and was a truly beautiful bromance to behold. I was especially impressed with Tiffin. His pouty, sad boy act in the fanfiction adaptation "After" was so hard to watch, but here he proved he has the chops to be good when directed well.

Ritchie's success with the "Sherlock Holmes" movies proved he could make a big, boisterous movie and shoot it in a way that feels effortless while easily moving the plot forward.

Ritchie manages to take a small piece of the larger WWII puzzle and make it feel high stakes, even though it was just the beginning of something much bigger.

While Cavill and the gang of misfits are on a mission to blow up Nazi U-boats, their more sophisticated partners in crime, Olusanmokun and Eiza González are getting up close and personal with Nazi soldiers to create distractions and gain more information about their enemy.

All of this is seamlessly woven together and comes together for a big climax.

There's an intriguing plot, likable characters who walk away from big explosions, sniping Nazi soldiers, stealing ships Jack Sparrow-style, a clever intelligence test á la "The Princess Bride," and whacking the enemy with an axe then gleefully waving at your buddies covered in blood.

What more could we ask from a movie?

'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' 4.5 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director : Guy Ritchie.

Cast: Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Henry Golding, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Eiza González, Babs Olusanmokun and Carey Elwes.

Rating: Rated R for strong language and strong violence throughout.

How to watch: In theaters April 19, 2024.

Meredith G. White is the entertainment reporter for The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com . You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter : @meredithgwhite, and email her at [email protected] .

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

COMMENTS

Free Guy
In "Free Guy," a bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, decides to become the hero of his own story... one he rewrites himself. Now in a world ...
Free Guy movie review & film summary (2021)
Free Guy is a fun and funny film about a video game character who becomes self-aware and tries to save his world. The reviewer applauds the cast, especially Jodie Comer, and the clever references to gaming culture.
Free Guy
FREE GUY is a refreshingly funny and heartfelt romantic comedy in the guise of a wacky and surprisingly clever video game action movie. Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Mar 15, 2022. a ...
'Free Guy' Review: Don't Hate the Player
Ryan Reynolds brings his nice-guy charisma to the role of a video game character who doesn't want to stay on the sidelines.
Free Guy (2021)
Free Guy: Directed by Shawn Levy. With Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery. When Guy, a bank teller, learns that he is a non-player character in a bloodthirsty, open-world video game, he goes on to become the hero of the story and takes the responsibility of saving the world.
Free Guy (2021)
Guy (Ryan Reynolds) is a bank teller and Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) is his best friend. He's actually an NPC (non-player character) in Free City, an online video game. He goes through every day doing the same thing and getting robbed multiple times. One day, he spots Molotovgirl (Jodie Comer) and his world view expands.
Free Guy review: Ryan Reynolds is an AI on the loose in sweet comedy
Director Shawn Levy's new superhero movie, 'Free Guy,' is both deeply silly and surprisingly sweet, even as its explosions and insult-comic banter tweak the outer limits of PG-13.
Free Guy
Free Guy - Metacritic. 2021. PG-13. 20th Century Studios. 1 h 55 m. Summary A bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, decides to become the hero of his own story…one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way ...
'Free Guy' Review: Ryan Reynolds Stars in Video Game Movie With Humor
'Free Guy' Review: Ryan Reynolds Levels Up in This Meta-Video Game Rom-Com Pulling ideas from everywhere, this at-times unwieldy mashup of multiple-reality blockbusters like 'The Matrix' and ...
Free Guy Review
Ryan Reynolds is a man living in a video game in Shawn Levy's action comedy, also starring Jodie Comer and Taika Waititi. Read the Empire review.
Free Guy First Reviews: The Biggest Surprise of the Summer
That's the consensus from the surprisingly very positive reviews from the new action-comedy, which hits theaters on August 13. While familiar in its premise and the latest movie to capitalize on a studio's willingness to mash up famous pop culture IP, Free Guy is said to be a lot of fun, with tons of action, laughs, and heart, plus a bunch ...
Movie Review: Free Guy, with Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer
Movie Review: In the action-comedy Free Guy, Ryan Reynolds stars as an NPC named Guy who suddenly becomes self-aware and starts to navigate his video game world in new ways.
Free Guy
Movie Review Guy likes his shirts blue, his ties striped, and his coffee with cream and two sugars. He likes his goldfish, Goldie. He likes his best bud, Buddy. He likes his job at the bank so much that he makes Disneyland cast members feel like KGB agents. "Don't have a good day," he tells his customers, coffee baristas and random people on the street. "Have a great day." Yes, Guy ...
Free Guy review: Finally, an authentic gaming film—and it's fun, not
Movies about video games are finally evolving into a respectable genre, and on a sheer gaming-fluency basis, Free Guy surpasses them all.
Free Guy review
Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer, is finally coming to cinemas, but has the video game-inspired movie been worth the wait? Our review.
Free Guy Movie Review
Likable video game comedy has guns, explosive action. Read Common Sense Media's Free Guy review, age rating, and parents guide.
Ryan Reynolds in 'Free Guy': Film Review
A non-player character in a video game decides to create his own destiny in this adventure-comedy directed by Shawn Levy.
'Free Guy' review: Ryan Reynolds cheerfully runs up the score in a
"Free Guy" is a cleverly programmed wedding of star (Ryan Reynolds) and subject matter, in a movie that's silly, handsome-looking and a great deal of fun, in roughly inverse proportion to ...
Free Guy Review: A Hilarious & Refreshingly Original CGI Spectacle
Free Guy delivers a hilarious, heartwarming, and refreshingly original perspective to ultra-violent open world gaming. The film cleverly satirizes a culture that thrives on reckless abandon.
'Free Guy' is the best original sci-fi movie of 2021. That's a pretty
The first big original blockbuster of the year isn't particularly original. But it's still a lot of fun. Read our review of 'Free Guy', starring Ryan Reynolds.
Free Guy Review: Ryan Reynolds Stars In The Best Video Game Movie Ever
Ultimately, though Free Guy is the most creative, heartfelt and perhaps best video game movie so dar, the film is fresh and original enough that anyone can enjoy it. Viewers don't need to have any deep knowledge of video games or the community to enjoy the story Levy, Lieberman, Penn and Reynolds are telling because it's universal and speaks to ...
Free Guy and the irony of movies about taking charge of your life
The irony of movies about taking charge of your life. Free Guy is about a man stuck in a fake world. Hollywood loves that metaphor. Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy. Alissa Wilkinson covers film and ...
Free Guy
Free Guy. Free Guy is a 2021 American action comedy film directed and produced by Shawn Levy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, and a story by Lieberman. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Joe Keery, and Taika Waititi. It tells the story of a bank teller who discovers that he is a non ...
Free Guy Summary and Synopsis
Free Guy: plot summary, featured cast, reviews, articles, photos, and videos. Free Guy tells the story of Guy (Ryan Reynolds), an NPC in an MMO video game called Free City who unexpectedly gains sentience and uses it to achieve his true potential.
Review: 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' is violently funny
Love big explosions, killing Nazis and Henry Cavill's jawline? Then Guy Ritchie's "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" is the movie for you.
Free Guy (soundtrack)
Free Guy (Original Score) is the score album composed by Christophe Beck. It was released on August 13, 2021 alongside the film. [8] ... In a three-star review, James Southall of Movie Wave described it as "an entertaining, easy album to listen to". [9]
Alien: Romulus review: This 'clever, gripping and sometimes awe ...
Since the first two films in the 1980s, the sci-fi horror series has been a very mixed bag. But this latest gets back to basics, and makes for a superbly scary monster movie.

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Reviewed at El Capitan Theater, Los Angeles, Aug. 2, 2021. (In Locarno Film Festival.) MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 115 MIN.

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