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Free Guy
Video game junkies seem to be the intended demographic with 2021's Free Guy, a big budget sci-fi action comedy that provides solid entertainment value as long as you don't think about it too much.
Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a mild-mannered bank teller whose mundane existence, with which he has been totally content, is not what he thought. Guy learns that he is a background character in a video game whose destiny is altered when he meets a primary character in the game, who is really the video avatar of one of the game's creators.
The screenplay by Matt Leiberman and Zak Penn owes its influence to a lot of films like Inception, The Truman Show, Back to the Future, Star Wars, and Dead pool to name a few, but plot elements from these films have been juggled to give the appearance of originality. The dialogue is intelligent and funny, but the story moves at such a lightning pace, the viewer must just strap in and move with the story.
And when the viewer moves with the story, we are deluged with enough technical splendor to make us forget the little plot points that we thought we wanted explained. Director Shawn Levy employs endless imagination in the mounting of this story, that is unapologetic for its lack of realism and impressive attention to continuity, which becomes key here.
Levy's production values are spectacular with special nods to cinematography, art direction, film editing, and sound. Reynolds brings the same charm and wit he did to Deadpool and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) continues to prove her versatility as an actress. Also LOVED Taika Waititi, who won an Oscar for writing JoJo Rabbit, in a fun and flashy performance as the villain, the nasty owner of the company that created the video game. There are also cameos from the late Alex Trebek, Channing Tatum, Chris Evans, and Reynolds' wife Blake Lively. Don't try to figure it out, just strap in and enjoy.
Video game junkies seem to be the intended demographic with 2021's Free Guy, a big budget sci-fi action comedy that provides solid entertainment value as long as you don't think about it too much.
Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a mild-mannered bank teller whose mundane existence, with which he has been totally content, is not what he thought. Guy learns that he is a background character in a video game whose destiny is altered when he meets a primary character in the game, who is really the video avatar of one of the game's creators.
The screenplay by Matt Leiberman and Zak Penn owes its influence to a lot of films like Inception, The Truman Show, Back to the Future, Star Wars, and Dead pool to name a few, but plot elements from these films have been juggled to give the appearance of originality. The dialogue is intelligent and funny, but the story moves at such a lightning pace, the viewer must just strap in and move with the story.
And when the viewer moves with the story, we are deluged with enough technical splendor to make us forget the little plot points that we thought we wanted explained. Director Shawn Levy employs endless imagination in the mounting of this story, that is unapologetic for its lack of realism and impressive attention to continuity, which becomes key here.
Levy's production values are spectacular with special nods to cinematography, art direction, film editing, and sound. Reynolds brings the same charm and wit he did to Deadpool and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) continues to prove her versatility as an actress. Also LOVED Taika Waititi, who won an Oscar for writing JoJo Rabbit, in a fun and flashy performance as the villain, the nasty owner of the company that created the video game. There are also cameos from the late Alex Trebek, Channing Tatum, Chris Evans, and Reynolds' wife Blake Lively. Don't try to figure it out, just strap in and enjoy.