Reynolds Really Racks Up Points In 'Free Guy'

 

By Darlene Donloe

Ryan Reynolds fans and gamer enthusiasts are going to be blown away by the new action-comedy, ‘Free Guy’ opening in theaters nationwide today.

It’s a nonstop action romp in none other than an open-world video game.

So here are the details.

‘Free Guy,’ a 20th Century Studios adventure-comedy, tells the story of Guy (Reynolds) a bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game. He decides to become the hero of his own story…one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way…before it is too late. Along the way, he meets Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer) the girl of his dreams – and becomes obsessed with getting to know her. She also happens to be the coder who conceived him.

Guy is a shy, brainless button-down banker who walks through his world with a daily routine that takes him nowhere. He wears the same blue shirt and khaki pants every day. In fact, he has the same routine every day of his empty life.  He has a best friend in the bank (Lil Rel Howery) who is a useless security guard who immediately drops his gun to the floor when a bank robbery is in progress.

Guy doesn’t want to be just another NPC (non-player character).

So, to gain the attention of Molotov Girl, Guy decides to rack up some points by going out into his world and performing superhero-type stuff to impress her.

His stunts get noticed and soon Guy is called Blue Shirt Guy in a video game called Free City.  The problems come when Blue Shirt Guy begins to do things he’s not programmed to do. He acquires his own mind, which doesn’t sit well with Antoine, Free City’s current owner (Taika Waititi).

In actuality, the real inventors of the Free City game are Keys (Joe Keery) and Millie (Comer again, in a blonde wig), who decide to get back the evidence from Antoine that proves they, indeed, are the true owners of the popular game.

If you’re not a true gamer, you may get a little lost with the maze of gaming-gamer lingo. But there’s plenty of computer-generated action and a little romance to get you through the film.

For what it is – ‘Free Guy’ works for the crowd it's intended for – young people and gamers who aren’t looking for something deep.

The film creates a gaming world that is an eye-popping, high-tech marvel, which seems to be the trend today in films that are full of artificial intelligence and alternate realities.

Reynolds will pull in his fans because of his good looks, impeccable delivery, and undeniable charm on screen.

 There are several cameos that are hilarious and a brief stint of a character named Dude, who is actually Guy’s head superimposed on Aaron W. Reed’s hulking body. The bit is comical.

 ‘Free Guy,’ directed by Shawn Levy, stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi.

 The screenplay is by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn and a story by Lieberman.

 The film is produced by Ryan Reynolds, p.g.a., Shawn Levy, p.g.a., Sarah Schechter, Greg Berlanti, and Adam Kolbrenner with Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, George Dewey, Dan Levine, and Michael Riley McGrath serving as executive producers. 

‘Free Guy’ is Rated PG: 13; Running time: 1h 55m.

 On the DONLOE SCALE:  D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable) O (oh, yeah), and E (excellent), ‘Free Guy’ gets an L (likable).