Guy works in Free City in a bank and is friends with security guard Buddy. Various explosions and bank robberies occur routinely. One day, he meets Molotov Girl and asks her out on a date. He also puts on the sunglasses which show various items around him. She explains him that he is actually living in a mass multiplayer video game, but that he is a non-player character, and that his algorithm for some reason developed a consciousness. Guy starts acting individually, saving other characters from robbers. Molotov Girl is the avatar of Millie, who in the real world developed the game with Keys. But the boss Antwan wants to delete the "Free City" video game because he wants to launch "Free City 2". Millie is able to "evacuate" the characters before the destruction and send them to a new video game. Guy admits he is just a love letter to Millie from the author, Keys. Millie and Keys thus kiss.
"The Truman Show" meets "Ready Player One"—this film about a character in a video game who suddenly develops consciousness doesn't place that much emphasis on philosophical questions or depth, but is instead content with being just a relaxed, light action comedy that entertains, and it does this really well at times. Most of the charm is derived from the excellent Ryan Reynolds in the leading role, and "Free Guy" does indeed work the best when some metafilm jokes remind of "Deadpool", though there is also a fair share of jokes that don't ignite or are just lazy. The villain Antwan (Taika Waititi) reminds of Christof from "The Truman Show", including in his attempt to stop Guy from going to the edge of the video game virtual reality world, whereas the touching "twist ending" reminds of the one in "Sailor Moon" episode 6. The director Shawn Levy doesn't reach some creative heights, yet the movie has its moments, since even its moderate-lukewarm scenes are cute. The best joke is when Guy, trying to escape from a chase, confidently runs across a steel beam on top the building and jumps towards a wrecking ball with Miley Cyrus' song "Wrecking Ball" playing in the background—but then he misses it and just falls down from the top of the building. And one moment is suprisingly emotional: when Guy ponders if anything he does matters if they all live in an artificial, virtual reality world, his friend Buddy tells him: "What does that mean? Look, brother, I'm sitting here with my best friend, trying to help him get through a tough time. And even if I'm not real, *this moment* is."
Grade:++
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