Free Guy Review

August 12, 2021 at 7:17pm
By Jason Stettner

I had very minimal, or well no expectations going into Free Guy and I came out generally feeling that it was a solid viewing. Perhaps an odd way to look at it, but I really didn’t have much anticipation and yet felt as though this delivered far beyond my initial expectations. It’s not necessarily anything too amazingly exceptional, yet actually a generally great watch.

It was both heartfelt, and funny while still being somewhat cliché at the same time. I also continue to groan at the way gamers are portrayed in films like this. That’s where it’s odd, it’s got a balance of people being out of touch with how gaming is these days yet at the same time it’s somewhat right on brand and accurate. It’d say more so for the latter than the former in most situations.

The plot also did a splendid job of actually making sense, I kept thinking to myself how this wouldn’t make sense yet they came up with solid reasons as to why and I appreciated that. You might get what I mean as the story progresses, or might not even think about it that deeply. It also does deploy some popular current streamers in the context of the story, despite the definite audience groans which I too was part of.

That content definitely fit, as did some of the smaller easter egg references and the great use of the Disney brand towards the latter part of the film. That section actually got the biggest response from the audience. Maybe a sign that Disney’s properties really are ingrained in all of us. Anyways, it’s got a unique story and a selection of interesting characters that clash in many unique ways.

The heart of this is of course Ryan Reynolds being himself as a person named Guy. He’s met the love of his life Millie (Jodie Comer), or well her in-game avatar. See, this world is real to him since he’s a NPC. Essentially just a bit of data, not something that exists yet definitely has a weird sense of life to him.

That’s explored throughout the film, and in a fascinating way. There’s also the always chasing the oblivious girl and smart programmer Keys (Joe Keery). He’s important, and a nice portal into the corporate world that’s run by Antoine (Taikia Waititi).

This figure actually seemed quite realistic though perhaps not in how things ended up for him, and while portrayed as villainous he did have some neat moments of respect towards Keys that I thought were neat, I wish they would have played with that more. Basically a line where he said he offered to bump Keys to programmer since he knows he’s smarter than where he is. Almost a drop the act sort of moment.

That aside, he’s mostly seen as eccentric and wild, while being the antagonist. Which of course Waititi absolutely nails, he’s funny. Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) was actually very much the emotional heart of this, that might sound odd but when you watch it he’s really quite good at keeping everything grounded and emotive which was important.

Oh, and a final mention to the hilarious performance by Channing Tatum as an avatar, that was grand. When it comes to the world they balanced the real, and the surreal quite well. You were very clearly shown what was actually the game and when you were in that very game. It was great to see the splits and for the most part the CGI quality was actually very good.

They had many hilarious moments squeezed into the frame from background explosions to hilarious in-game pop-ins. A fun reference being the Halo Scorpion. That aspect was very well handled and the action was great. It was over the top like a game, yet also firmly balanced for the established environment they created here.

The Conclusion

Free Guy is actually a solid viewing, with Ryan Reynolds playing himself and the film having more heartfelt moments than one might have expected. It definitely provided some laughs and while extremely cliché at times it does aim to surprise. I had fun with it, and I really wasn’t looking forward to this one even going into the theater.

I mention that because it sort of underlines that it’s actually a good time. It has some fun surprises, bizarre moments and a good sense of pacing to it. The music is well done as well, and everything sort of just matches the style of modern Ryan Reynolds which I’m sure many will enjoy.

Free Guy Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening was Provided by Disney

Rating Overall: 7.4