Free Guy is a movie that seems like it’s been coming out for ages – something alluded to by co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi in the recent viral short Deadpool and Korg react. (Which also served as Deadpool’s introduction to the MCU, by the way.) So, has it been worth the wait? Mostly, yes.
The multiple trailers have pretty much set the tone for the movie, which follows non-playable character – or ‘NPC’ – Guy (Reynolds) in the video game ‘Free City’, which gets a lot of inspiration from GTA. Guy is a bank teller sharing coffees with his friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), unphased by the multiple shootings, explosions and bank robberies committed every day by powerful people in sunglasses. Guy becomes self-aware after a chance meeting with player ‘MolotovGirl’, aka Millie (Jodie Comer). His rogue behaviour brings him to the attention of game programmers Mouser (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and Keys (Joe Keery), as well as the game’s douchebag owner Antwan (Waititi) and the gaming world.
The reasons for this may all be in a game Millie and Keys had developed previously, something she is trying to prove by playing Free City and exposing Antwan, who she believes stole their code.
Reynolds and Waititi are two of the most popular people on the planet right now and it’s hard not to like them in whatever they do. Free Guy is a perfect vehicle for their fun, silly brand of humour, and also gives Comer a chance to show her movie potential post-Killing Eve (if this is anything to go by, then there are lots). Free Guy is not free from the usual blockbuster clichés, however – the overdone moments when everyone cheers enthusiastically, the all-important kiss, the goofy, cowardly sidekick.
But it does have charm, some great A-list cameos (the best involving a shield), and lots of cameos from YouTubers this writer has never heard of, but you probably have if you’re an avid gamer/YouTuber. Think Tron having an existential crisis, a goofier Ready Player One (also co-written by Zak Penn), or a slightly grown-up Wreck-It Ralph, with a bit of Hollywood romance thrown in.
Free Guy is in US cinemas on August 10th and UK cinemas on August 13th.
