Download Free Guy; movie review

 

FREE GUY

Cert 12A

115 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, sex references, infrequent strong language

Everybody loves Ryan Reynolds, don't they?

True, I don't always go for his choice of movies (Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard was awful) and his characters have similar traits but he always has the ability to lure the audience on to his side.

Free Guy uses his on-screen magnetism to full effect and gives us an interesting concept into the bargain.

This is the 2021 version of The Truman Show with a jolly central subject who suddenly realises that his world is fake.

Reynolds plays Guy, an NPC  - non-playing character - in a popular video game.

Every day he wakes up at the same time, says hello to his goldfish, wears the same blue shirt, orders the same coffee and tells everyone he meets: "Don't have a good day, have a great day."

Then he goes to work at a bank where he and his best friend (Lil Rel Howery), cower from raids throughout the day.

But a pretty girl (Jodie Comer) turns his head and prompts him to seek another way.

He realises that she and others who wear sunglasses seem to be able to do anything, so Guy stands up to a bank robber, grabs his shades and sees that his world is not what he thought.

Meanwhile, the game developers are watching in astonishment as one of the characters begins to act outside of his program.

Therefore, designers Keys (Joe Keery) and Mouser (Utkarsh Ambudkar) set out to restore the status quo, inspired by their villainous boss (Taika Waititi)

I am pleased to report that Free Guy is better than I had feared - it has charm, lots of action and prompts the occasional laugh.

On social media recently, I questioned whether Reynolds could play anything other than Deadpool-esque characters.

I was told Free Guy would offer the evidence that he can but, to be honest, I can't agree. This is merely a toned-down version of what we have come to expect from him.

Nevertheless, thanks to smart writing and quality directing by Matt Lieberman, this is light years better than Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard and, in my view, a challenger to Deadpool.

However, I am aware of friends who walked out on Shawn Levy's film because they could not follow the storyline.

Reasons to watch: Fresh take on The Truman Show concept

Reasons to avoid: Over-complicated storyline

Laughs: Chuckles rather than laughs

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Several video game tools and weapons appear in the movie, such as the Mega Buster from "MegaMan", the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2 (2004) (or the Physics Gun from Garry's Mod (2004)), and the Portal Gun from Portal (2007).

The final word. Shawn Levy: "We wanted to make an action-comedy that takes this video game concept into a more broadly accessible area of how we live and deal with empowerment as individuals, the yearning that we really believe every person has to step out of the background role and have an impact on the world." Indie Wire

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