Free Guy (2021) – Movie Review

Don’t have a good day. Have a great day.

Guy (Ryan Reynolds) is an NPC living in Free City, a violent and beloved video game. Everyday he wakes up, gets coffee, and goes to work at the bank where he is constantly getting robbed. While he enjoys his life, he still feels like something is missing. But when Guy sees the girl of his dreams, he decides to change things up and become the hero of the story.

I actually loved Free Guy and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The humor was spot on, as usual with Ryan Reynolds, and had me giggling throughout the entire film. The story was surprisingly good, mixing a good blend of humor and emotion. 

All the actors did a great job in their respective roles – Guy as the innocent good-hearted hero, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) as his supportive friend, Millie (Jodie Comer) as the badass dream girl, and Keys (Joe Keery) as the coder on the path of redemption. Even Taika Waititi as the villain was done well, bringing a combination of both funny and menacing to the table.

While Free Guy did seem to draw some inspiration from other stories, I thought it provided a unique twist. It reminded me of a good mix bringing in elements from Ready Player One and The Truman Show, both of which are movies I love, along with tons of other cameos and movie references.

I thought for a video game, Free City was a little too over the top. Obviously this was intentional to emphasize that Guy was living in a video game, but whenever he put on the glasses, the world was way too flashy with way too many pop ups. Again, I think this was to emphasize the difference between the real world and Free City, but as a gamer, this didn’t look like a real video game.

I really enjoyed Free Guy and rate it 4 ½ / 5 stars. Maybe there was just a bad taste in my mouth after The Green Knight, but Free Guy was a pleasant surprise and I’d definitely recommend going to see it instead.