Quick Film Review: Free Guy ('21, Dir: Shawn Levy)

 

Free Guy (2021)

Directed by Shawn Levy

Written by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn

It's easy to be cynical about a movie like Free Guy, and I'll admit that from the concept and the trailers I was guilty of that. One must only look to the many, we'll say... incendiary if not downright insulting... Letterboxd reviews to see that the cynicism is running deep for this movie. I get it. It's a movie inspired by video games, made by a big studio, using IP from its new parent company, and the trailers weren't necessarily the most inspiring. And yet I found this movie to be an absolute delight. The key ingredients are heart and stakes. Sure, the world building of the game within the movie called Free City makes for some fun visuals, with lots of gags and well-shot action that gets to play fast and loose with physics. Ryan Reynolds it as his best, doing a little bit of Deadpool, a little bit of Buddy the Elf, all charm and smiles and wit. Taika Waititi and Lil Rel add solid comedic performances as well. There are jokes about gaming culture as well as fish-out-of-water bits that had me smiling if not downright cackling, that feel clever and loving with only a little bit of an earned sneer. The character of Guy is used to explore some interesting existential ideas about achieving more in one's life than the boxes we are put into, the limitations we think we have. It's okay to be ambitious and strive for something more! We can do anything! 

But when it boils down to it, it is Jodie Comer as Millie and Joe Keery as Keys that truly make this movie work. When the film travels outside of the game into the real world I expected it to lose steam. It is, in fact, the opposite, as it is in these scenes that the film cements itself as something a bit more and establishes the stakes. I ended up caring deeply for these two characters, and as mentioned prior the immense heart of the film is ultimately centered in their direction. Their characters' involvement in the game makes for an interesting commentary on the way our modern culture uses and abuses IP (this film does have its cake and eat it too) and the way that unfolds and the impact it has on Guy and the other in-game characters makes for a compelling ticking clock in the final act. Jodie Comer is a star, and although the marketing is centered around Ryan Reynolds (and he is great!) this is her movie, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I have seen Free Guy twice and I'll likely see it again. It is a deeply comforting movie, silly and clever, a handsome studio product by Shawn Levy that also made me feel warm and fuzzy. Sometimes that's all you need.