Free Guy review

In these uncertain times we are trying to re-discover our purpose or perhaps find new ones and though it was made in 2019, Free Guy suits 2021 perfectly. While the concept is not new and has featured in various iterations across a number of films the take is fresh, vibrant and frequently very funny. Rarely for modern films it seems to exactly fit its running time with not an ounce of flab, not one moment when your attention wanders. When it was finished it was one of those movies where I wished I had written it because it must have been so much fun to create and is a blast to watch.

Warning- spoilers beyond this point…

 

In a place called Free City we meet a man called Guy as he goes through his daily routine- getting up, saying good morning to his single goldfish, donning one of many identical outfits, eating breakfast, picking up a coffee and going to work in a bank. His catchphrase is; ”Don’t have a good day, have a great day” and he does just that. He exchanges banter with familiar faces and goes around seemingly oblivious to the ongoing chaos behind him. Free City is awash with violent crime, robberies, muggings and burning vehicles yet they all fit into the rhythm of the day. At work Guy chats to his best buddy- his name is Buddy- about the girl of his dreams. The viewer will already realise this is some sort of simulation and as it progresses the film sometimes drops echoes of previous ventures in similar situations - The Matrix, The Truman Show, Inception, Ready Player One, The Last Action Hero, etc- but rather than their more studied seriousness Free Guy is a lark. Guy is an NPC, a non player character in a game who is not supposed to do anything but his pre programmed actions. Only the `sunglasses people` have free will.

Guy meets the girl – Molotov Girl - and as soon as he does it begins to change him. He becomes self - aware and also aware of the everyday carnage around him deciding to become a hero to impress her thus becoming famous as `Blue Shirt Guy`. So the narrative slowly unfurls taking us into the real world where Molotov Girl is the avatar for Millie whose breakthrough video game code was snatched by the makers of Free City and she was booted out. With initially reluctant help from her fellow inventor Keys, who still works for the company, she is trying to retrieve that code and things seem to connect to Guy.

What develops is a joy. There are sight gags aplenty, quirky characters and a storyline that manages to sustain interest even if some of its signatures are familiar. Visually the films comes closer than most to bringing to life the colourful video game aesthetic yet the busy screen never detracts and much later on when a taxi on fire passes by in the background you just see it as normal! There’s a well defined difference as well between the look of the video and real worlds which seems as if they were filmed using different types of cameras.  Despite the fact that all the jeopardy takes place inside what is just a game there is a palpable tension to these sequences which flow with rapid fire speed and considerable invention. It feels like everyone is off the leash in the best possible way.

The story develops into something of a tale of belonging and of making the most of life however short it may be and how we don’t always take advantage of opportunities. Right now it resonates even more strongly, as director Shaun Levy has said:  “How does optimism survive in a reality that is bleak?”

As Guy asserts his independence it draws the attention of company boss Antoine who seeks to take revenge despite the revelation that Guy is something more than he seems. As it twists and turns towards a conclusion each development is enthrallingly written, played and presented. Even multiple cameos from YouTube gamers and real celebs help rather than detract.

It helps enormously that the script is so witty. Something like this could be too techie or too serious but you need absolutely no knowledge of coding or suchlike and there are laughs or lighter moments coming at you again and again and again. The filmmakers know that there is nothing as boring as watching  people tapping on a keyboard so it always takes us into the world of Free City to see what that tapping is doing.  It also helps that it is cast brilliantly. Ryan Reynolds plays the innocent Guy like a child yet even as he develops the actor maintains that naïve likeability and it is easy to believe he would be an inspiring hero to other characters in the game. The on screen chemistry between him and Jodie Comer who plays Millie sparks really well. She pitches her character just right without falling into the cliches you see in some superhero films. Even the more romantic moments are underpinned by spikier dialogue or some faux pas by Guy.

There are strong performances too from Lil Rel Howley as the incredibly enthusiastic Buddy, Joe Keery as the sincere Keys, Utkarsh Ambudkar as fellow programmer Mouser (their banter is so good) and the seemingly ubiquitous Taika Waititi as the extravagant Antoine. A joyride from start to finish, Free Guy is filled with enough joi de vivre to make you feel invigorated.