Free Guy
Free Guy is available on Disney + & HBOMax at the time of writing.
SCREENPLAY: B-
This is a story about a guy named “Guy.” One day, the mild mannered and creepily cheerful bank teller realizes his incredibly repetitive life isn’t real. He’s not human. He’s an NPC in an uber-violent video game.
On the surface, this may sound a bit like The Matrix - the Wachowski siblings’ innovative, cooler-than-anything-you’ve ever-seen-before 1999 thriller. Granted, the stories share a couple similarities, but only on the surface. In fact, Free Guy is all about surface.The story will occasionally dip its toe into socially important topics like the nature of existence or the difficult relationship between making art and making a buck. But Free Guy is not going to dive into a pool like that. Instead it cannonballs into a pool of slapstick and borderline-crude humor populated by inflatables filled with over the top CGI. It’s not that Free Guy sets out to say important things and fails. It makes an intentional choice to sit on the sidelines and just smirk at all that stuff. It is what it is, but what it is, is pretty good.
ACTING: B
We know Ryan Reynolds. Ryan Reynolds is Ryan Reynolds. If you like Ryan Reynolds, you will love him here. He plays Guy a lot like Will Ferrel played Buddy the Elf. He bursts with the same bright eyed wonder at each new discovery in his new, sparkly world. Jodie Comer plays the object of his digital affection with unflappable confidence and esteemed swagger. Joe Keery and Utkarsh Ambudkar are great as employees of Soonami Entertainment, but it’s Taika Waititi who steals the show as Antwan. He pushes his satirical take of eccentric tech bros to hysterical and outrageous levels.
CRAFT: B
The craft here is the CGI. It’s very apparent the actors are doing a ton of green screen work. I usually find green screen acting a drag. I know movies aren’t real, but I hate being blatantly reminded that I’m watching something fake. However, that vibe makes sense here since the story spends so much time in an actual video game. It doesn’t make me feel like I’m watching something fake, because I actually am watching something fake that’s taking place in a real, imaginary world in a real setting. Wow. I think I hurt my brain writing that last sentence. Sorry if you broke yours reading it.
PRODUCT PLACEMENT: C
Perhaps this category should be renamed “Branding Embedment.” Free Guy takes place in a video game, a place where anything can happen. You want a lightsaber? You get a lightsaber. You want iconic items from the MCU? You get them. I like that Free Guy flexes these things with a lot more class and a lot less obnoxiousness than Warner Brothers did with Space Jam 2. But to paraphrase Peter Parker: “With great IP comes great responsibility.” I admit, my eyes got huge and I smiled like I was seven years old again the moment I saw that lightsaber. But I’m a little scared I’m going to see a lightsaber in every Disney movie. And that it’s going to start feeling like a page with everything highlighted. Disnery, wield those sabers slowly and prudently. Please.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Free Guy takes you on a CGI ride with more graphics and splats than (hmm … insert name of popular video game with lots of CGI and splats here because the old guy movie critic doesn’t know jack about video games). If you want to sit and watch a fun, silly movie that won’t make you think too much, this one will make you super happy. There’s a lot in this world that - rightfully - can make us depressed. This is the first thing I’ve written since Russia invaded Ukraine. It’s one of the first times I’m using my Chromebook for something other than doom scrolling. We need to pay attention and fight for justice for all (around the world and at home), but you can’t do it 24/7. You need to take a break once in a while in order to keep yourself healthy. There’s still plenty of joy and silliness to be found in this world. I found it in Free Guy. If you need a break, Free Guy is a good option.