Free Guy: Well Worth The Wait, A Truly Joyous Experience [Review]

We’ve had to wait quite a while for Free Guy. It was originally supposed to release in July of 2020. We all know what got in the way of that. But now, rejoice, the film is releasing Friday, August 13th. Like the game in the movie, Free City, Free Guy is the little movie that could. It’s one of the only films to remain after the Disney-Fox merger. Thankfully, Disney didn’t cancel the project, because we’d be robbed of one of the most fun and joyous movies released this year.

The premise of Free Guy is pretty simple. A video-game NPC wakes up one day and realizes he can be more than just a background character. He meets players and helps foil a plot by an evil game studio owner. In the grand scheme of things, the evil of Antwan (played almost too hilariously by Taika Waititi), isn’t that big. Sure, he’ll steal someone else’s work and get away with it. This plot is more for the citizens and characters of Free City who aren’t “real”, but still have that bit of magic in them.

The film is directed by Shawn Levy with a script from Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn. It stars Ryan Reynolds as Guy, Jodie Comer as Millie/MolotovGirl, Taika Waititi as Antwan, Joe Keery as Keys, Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser, and Lil Rel Howery as Buddy. The Press Event with the cast and director gave us a good look at just how everyone has such great chemistry with one another in this film.

Free Guy is so special because it seamlessly blends genres together in a smart way.

Very Clever Writing Set This One Apart From Other Genre Films

In the “video game movie” genre, we don’t really have many winners. Ready Player One, Pixels, and Jumanji are all based around video games in some way. Some of those are good films, in the case of Pixels, not so much. Where does Free Guy fall on that spectrum? This is the best video game based movie I’ve seen. It doesn’t bog down into “gamer” speak, or try too hard like a 35 year old screenwriter looking up buzzwords for their screenplay. You get some of the generic jargon that you need to help explain things to normal people, but people well versed in the language won’t be annoyed.

As for the world it builds, Free City is a lot like the world of games like Grand Theft Auto V or other massively multiplayer online games. Think of it like World of Warcraft had a baby with Fortnite and GTA. That part isn’t really important, but it’s a game that swept the nation. At the heart of the story are our main characters. Guy and Buddy are NPC’s that live in Free City and work at a bank that’s robbed every day. That all changes when Guy sees MolotovGirl walking around. Normally NPC’s are supposed to follow a script that they say every time someone interacts with them. This time, and this girl, change his script.

The moments between all the action and adventure in Free Guy are filled to the brim with witty dialogue between the characters. Some of the highlights are likely improvised moments between Taika Waititi and Joe Keery. Especially near the end of the film when he gets his most evil, Waititi somehow gets even funnier.

The Cast Highlight How Fun This Movie Is

in a world filled with a somewhat lack of joy and fun, especially at the cinema, we might need a movie like Free Guy. It’s so endlessly joyous and filled with wonder, that you can’t help but smile. Even at the Press Screening I went to, which is usually filled with hateful and jaded people like me, people were cheering and screaming with laughter. In a film with Ryan Reynolds, you’d expect him to do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to comedy. You’re right on that count, but the rest of the cast handles their comedic chops well too. Lil Rel Howery’s Buddy is not only one of the most heartfelt characters in the film, but he’s hilarious.

Jodie Comer pulls double duty as Millie, and Molotov Girl. She goes between an American and a British accent and between action star and normal person. She’s fantastic and holds up a lot of the action scenes in the beginning and middle of the film. Her and Joe Keery’s Keys relationship hold up the “romantic comedy” aspects of the film. It’s a movie filled with relationships that just work. Even the ones that don’t “work” like Mouser and Antwan, are played for comedic effect. Mouser just wants validation and mentorship from Antwan, and he crashes and burns every time he reaches out.

No Spoilers, But The Cameos In This Movie Are Top Notch

Ryan Reynolds has lots of famous friends. And they show up in this movie in gut-busting ways. Some are easier to spot than others, but without spoiling any of them, they really add a lot to the movie. If Free City is such a huge game, it’s a certainty that someone is going to make their avatar look like certain celebrities. That’s all I’ll say, but be on the lookout for some famous cameos, especially near the end of the film.

The Overarching Feeling Of Truly Genuine Joy In Free Guy

Free Guy might not take the world by storm and change the way we make or see movies. But in a time when there’s plenty of news stories and entertainment stories that are downers to horrifying, it goes to show that humanity can make something so joyous. It’s hopeful, and brings such a feeling of elation by the time it’s over. The film has some of the classic clichés and the plot might not be as “big” as you think; but it all combines together for a movie that you’ll be happier after seeing.

In particular, Jodie Comer gives a performance that is badass, and not overly sexualized. Her and Ryan Reynolds have on-screen chemistry that you can’t find with many A-list stars these days. I’m not sure how they make a sequel to Free Guy, but these are characters that we definitely need more from.

If you’re looking for faults, there are some issues with logic that don’t make much sense particularly how bad the security and cyber security for Free City is. When you look at how much cheating and hacking goes on with AAA titles like Call of Duty: Warzone, it makes a bit more sense.

Free Guy is a movie that you certainly don’t want to miss when it releases August 13th. Overall, it’s one of the most entertaining and jubilant movies of 2021.

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