Movie was shit, could go down as one of Ryan’s worst in my opinion. If it wasn’t for the video game aspect I suspect it wouldn’t get watched by a lot seeing as gamers tend to support anything game related.
Ok for a PG movie, not for older crowd.
Wasn't a fan of this movie. I'm getting a bit tired of Ryan Reynolds playing the same character in every movie. It worked for Deadpool, but it's growing old watching him act that same way in every movie since. The humour in this movie was mostly a miss for me, though I do admit there were a few moments that drew a chuckle from me. The premise of the movie drew me in, but I don't think it was executed very well. It ended up just being pretty bland and generic, with lots of inconsistencies and things that made no sense. It was as if the people behind the writing had no idea how MMOs work. The cameos from the famous YouTube and Twitch streamers felt a bit cheap too, as if they were just trying to cash in and appeal more to a certain demographic.
Not a horrible movie by any means. But certainly not one that I would recommend either.
Hollywood being Hollywood, ruining potential. It was decent, but they had to fuck it up with cheap cringe-inducing cameos, a very apparent vacuity of video game knowledge/experience, and woke propaganda. The comedy gets old, shallow, and slightly irritative. The story is bland and superficial. The action was sparse and piddling in quality. Characters feel fake, generic, and obnoxious. One of the only positives is the open-world which they should have developed more. They made a video game movie ffs, the possibilities should have been endless.
A extremely weak film in what it proposes, it's not funny, the script has many holes, stereotyped and irritating characters.
Free guy is every gamers / nerds wet dream! The jokes, the scenes it's so familiar and the acting is amazing. Also a few bonuses but I won't spoiler them for you. Go see it, you won't be disappointed!!
Okay, more of a romance than a comedy.
Seems to be written and acted by people who have no idea about mmorpg's and think every game is GTA o.0
Story leans more towards what should have been a VRMMO at least then the chemistry would have made sense, kinda feels like someone told someone about a VRMMO novel and then they made up all the details around that. Not saying they should make a overgeared or legendary mechanic movie or better yet tv show.... but if they did, it'd be better than this. Not saying this is bad, just if you actually play any games beyond GTA you'd realise pretty quickly.. this game would be boring as hell, there's only one small city for a start. Player housing can be broken into, which would be an interesting twist... but not one many players would subscribe to as new players would just get tired of being robbed every 2 seconds and starting from scratch everytime they login... Hard pass
Writer's have zero clue about code, servers, network management, user management, GMs, streaming - though was surprised to see poki (only one I recognised) or even deleting things o.o Seriously the guy just had the old build running in the background?
I got too many complaints about the technical side to go into...
Anyway, not a bad movie. Well worth a watch, just try not to think too deeply when watching it.
Absolutely loved it. The acting, the references, the comedy, all of it! If you're a hardcore gamer, a casual one or just a person who fantasizes your world in video games, this movie is a must watch.
10/10
I still don't think this piece of shit is a real movie even after watching it. How was something this bad allowed to be made? How could anyone sit through it? How is it that so many people love this thing?
The only way I can really describe this movie is immature, derivative, vapid, and idiotic. There is nothing redeeming about this. It's not even laughably bad, it's just downright painful to watch. It feels like a film made by Reddit incels and a room full of executives. The villain is horribly overwritten to the point it just becomes annoying. Taika Waititi at his most obnoxious worst is just about the terrible thing in this movie. The target age for this is about 10 years old, but it's strange that a kids movie would have so many guns in it.
I have never cared about video games and this made me care even less.
decent to watch when you got nothing better to do, but otherwise its filled with dumb stuff, like I remember this conversation where this dude was talking about failed dreams and college debt or something and this other guy just called it "white privilege", lmao! call me a snowflake, but this just screams political agenda to me
This was so good!
Sure, it was a little predictable and incredibly cheesy at points but I laughed most the way through. Some great action scenes and CGI. Brilliant acting all-round, especially from he that is the legendary Ryan Reynolds.
Would have loved to see a sequel, but not completely sure it would work with how this movie was concluded.
All in all, I utterly loved it and recommend to all that haven’t seen it yet to drop everything and watch it immediately.
Yeah, well, I'm still gonna shoot NPC's. I don' t care.
Free Guy is a frivolous yet extremely entertaining fictional film from the first minute. Exploring new genres from the glasses of AI, Shawn Levy kills it with Free Guy. Besides being exceedingly funny, it offers stunning game-centric visuals, VFX, and a charming Ryan Reynolds who is in top form here. Supported brilliantly by Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, and Joe Keery too. The world of AI is beyond our imagination and this film is the latest example of how much AI has the potential to evolve. With an audacious production value this is easily one of the best entertainers of this year.
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What a great movie! It wasn't a good movie, it was a great movie.
Indie developers are better than greedy big publishers who steal concepts and milk people with sequels. But also implemented tons of Fortnite and Disney in the movie.
Nothing of what you can expect from the trailer. First of all the best scene and more funny is in the trailer with captain america.
The rest is not a comedy comedy, is more of a rom-com.
It doesnt have laughs, it has a moral story and it takes it self more seriously that it needs. I thought it would have more goof of Ryan, the role doesn't suit him.
Mediocre result
It's a fun movie, for sure. Crazy cgi, random fights, hidden eggs, jokes, concept, it was all great stuff. But I still feel violently attacked by this movie. Shawn Levy managed to make something so randomly triggering with good stuff. I'll never watch it again, but it was fun the first time, I guess.
The whole video game concept was very interesting and fun!
All sponsors and no substance. I fell asleep, woke up and walked about before the last 10 minutes. It was kind numbing. Not even Ryan renolds charm and humor could save it.
If you haven’t seen this yet. Than make this the next movie you watch. Who cares what your style is when it comes to movies! Watch this next! Nothing more to say!!!
In "Free Guy," Ryan Reynolds eagerly dives into a fun, yet ultimately flawed concept, leaving audiences yearning for a tighter execution. The film's extended run time merely exacerbates its shortcomings, hindering its potential impact. While the movie's premise revolves around a video game world, it falls short of fully immersing itself in the meticulous logic and rules that govern such realms. Nevertheless, Jodie Comer seductively graces the screen, adding a touch of allure amidst the film's shortcomings. Regrettably, the romance portrayed fails to ignite any sparks, dampening the overall experience. On a positive note, the seamless CGI and cleverly placed cameos manage to effectively immerse viewers in this virtual universe.
The usual Reynolds charm, this time in video game style. Will never attack an NPC unprovoked again (joking, it’s too fun).
Interesting themes of free will, artificial intelligence, and corporate greed.
Fun, watchable, lovely film. Chat Gpt 4 did something similar in 2023 about ai person interacting with each other as humans.
It's got a nice Ready Player One vibe to it. Which we basically never see in anything else. And Ready Player One is a great movie.
The Trueman Show for the 21st century and just like the first quarter of this century it flatters to deceive and is actually a bit shit.
That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works. Sadly they couldn't bother to hire a programmer to explain how a game or a server work...
The story of this movie is a pretty cool idea but unfortunately it is somewhat ruined by Disney’s woke brigade.
I have to say that I quite enjoyed the first third of this movie even though said woke brigade managed to throw in some woke unnecessary bullshit about “white privilege” quite early but from there it went rather downhill.
The first third had plenty of over the top hilarious action in it. It was fun to watch. The parts where Free Guy learns to “level up” and kick ass where quite cool.
From there on it started to go downhill. The idea that Millie should access some “hidden level” in the game to reveal evidence that Antwan had stolen code from her is rather ludicrous.
Speaking of Antwan, can you say “over the top”? Sometimes over the top can be fun but this guy was just cringey.
Although there were still plenty of cool CGI effects in the latter half of the movie it was pretty much ruined for me by several completely unnecessary strongly sexual scenes. I do not need some guy touching another guys “boobs” in my films and I do not need any boob touching at all in a movie for all audiences. Overall, at this point the movie becomes more an attempt at social engineering, propaganda and agenda feeding.
The ending? It was, not very surprisingly at this point, rather meh. To me the movie more or less ended when Millie’s original level was found. The rest was just dragging it out with some rubbish about being able to do whatever you wanted and nonsense about there being so many people not wanting to actual play a game (shooter) but just mill around and watch. Sorry, people wants to play games, if not to shoot things (which most people actually wants to do) so at least to do something. Not just to watch.
Also the rubbish with Antwan trashing servers to hide evidence? The usual Hollywood nonsense. No way anyone, even a game studio, running a game or service that big would not have back-ups.
Too bad, it was a good idea and some parts where really cool and fun to watch but their woke brigade and Hollywood script writer’s stupidity.
Very well done. Its more than worth a watch.
If somebody told me Jodie Comer was in this I probably would have watched it sooner. It was really good. Hit every gamer itch. And the streamer and youtuber cameos were amazing. References to video games better than ready player one I’d say. Pretty happy with this movie.
In the past, I found Ryan Reynolds and comedy to be a mismatched combination. Reynolds had tried his hand at various roles and genres without much success. However, his portrayal of Deadpool changed that and led to a more successful career for him. In Free Guy, Reynolds plays the character Guy, an NPC in a popular online game who starts to gain self-awareness and rebels against his programming when he meets a player named Molotov Girl (played by Comer). The game's developer, Antwan (Waititi) tries to stop Guy's rebellion. The movie is entertaining and has heart, but it lacks the comedic punch one would expect from a Reynolds-led film. While there are funny moments, the film doesn't evoke much laughter. The chemistry between Reynolds and Comer is good, and Lil Rey Howery provides some emotional depth to the story. The movie also features well-executed action sequences, cameos, and clever thematic ideas about existence and free will. While not as funny as I had hoped, Free Guy is a fun and well-executed movie with strong performances.
En el pasado, descubrí que Ryan Reynolds y la comedia eran una combinación que no coincidía. Reynolds había probado suerte en varios roles y géneros sin mucho éxito. Sin embargo, su interpretación de Deadpool cambió eso y lo llevó a una carrera más exitosa. En Free Guy, Reynolds interpreta al personaje Guy, un NPC en un popular juego en línea que comienza a ganar conciencia de sí mismo y se rebela contra su programación cuando conoce a un jugador llamado Molotov Girl (interpretado por Comer). El desarrollador del juego, Antwan (Waititi) intenta detener la rebelión de Guy. La película es entretenida y tiene corazón, pero carece del golpe cómico que uno esperaría de una película dirigida por Reynolds. Si bien hay momentos divertidos, la película no provoca muchas risas. La química entre Reynolds y Comer es buena, y Lil Rey Howery proporciona algo de profundidad emocional a la historia. La película también presenta secuencias de acción bien ejecutadas, cameos e ingeniosas ideas temáticas sobre la existencia y el libre albedrío. Si bien no es tan divertido como esperaba, Free Guy es una película divertida y bien ejecutada con buenas actuaciones.
A video game movie that actually succeeds in what it tries to do. Just a fun and enjoyable movie with a lot of good moments.
It was fine. Definitely some interesting concepts and potential, but it all falls by the wayside pretty fast.
The thing that bothered me the most though was all the unrealistic technical stuff. Yeah, I know, Hollywood gonna Hollywood, but when it forms the crux of the plot, it really ruins it for me. e.g.
- There's no reason for a dev/support to go in-game to kick a player from the server. They would have tools to kick people without going into the game.
- Rebooting the server wouldn't in itself reset everything, you would need to do some sort of rollback for that.
- Destroying a bunch of servers in Soonami HQ's basement wouldn't take the game offline; if the company and game are as big as the movie makes out, they would need to have servers in multiple regions.
- The fact that the evidence they need to take down Antwan is a clip recorded by some chronically-online Twitch streamer means that there's a 99.9% chance that there's another copy of it just sitting on the internet that Millie could have downloaded without any hassle.
Also, the cameos especially the gamers/streamers really made me cringe. I think I must be old now, and this movie's fan service is aimed at the generation after me.
Do you enjoy spending 2 hours watching product placements, gringe youtuber cameos and politically correct messaging? Then this is the movie for you!
Absolutely horrendous, there’s not a single funny moment or scene in the entire movie either. You have to be an NPC to actually enjoy this is my guess.
What a feel good movie that was!!!
Free Guy is an incredibly fun and clever comedy. The story follows a background character in an online video game that becomes self-aware and makes the leap to player. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, and Taika Waititi, the film has a solid cast that delivers good performances; especially Reynolds, who’s great with this type of humor. Also, the writers do a nice job at explaining all the video game stuff so that layman can understand and enjoy the film while also including in-jokes for gamers. And the set and costume designers do an impressible job at creating the video game world and at giving it a hyper-reality. Additionally, the soundtrack is especially well-done and sets a lighthearted, playful tone. Full of laughs, Free Guy is a wildly entertaining film.
It's a tipycal Ryan Reynolds movie, funny, easy, action, love. Nice.
I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised!
A lot of plot holes but overall pretty good.
Acting was good although really getting tired of Ryan Reynolds constant stupidity. I thought it was funny the first couple of movies I saw him in but it's really getting old.
Scenery was fantastic.
Overall, a 7 out of 10
this was a great movie
The Truman Show, but with guns and punching!
Overall an okay movie. If you wanted to watch something similar and better…Ready Player One. Ryan Reynolds plays the same character in every movie now. It was a big advert with occasional political statements. CGI and premise was great. Actors outside of Ryan did fantastic. Seemed cringy at times but maybe that was the purpose.
A pause to remember how PERFECT are the visual effects.
Another film where Ryan Reynolds plays Ryan Reynolds. Right now it's a fun thing to watch, but he's essentially the same character with the same snarky punchlines and comedy that has been present in every Ryan Reynolds movie for the past dozen.
But, like Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Will Farrell and many more, the formula of you playing the same character in every movie just shows that you have a limited acting reach and each movie is chipping away at the lifespan of your popularity.
I figure people will endure this character through one more Deadpool, a couple more Free Guys and one or two Adam Projects before they just burn out on this same old character.
All of that being said, this is another fun "I'm Ryan Reynolds and here is my only character" movie.
Ryan Reynolds is a great guy :)
61 | Free Guy is a light comedy film and a love letter to games lovers. It is Ready Player One meets The Truman Show. Even though it is a light film, there is something deep down there that this film wants to tackle: freedom. Some of us probably feel living like NPC, a boring mundane life with nothing meaningful to it. It is us who give life meaning, we probably feel our lives are not real and fake, but the moments we had especially with some people we love, that's what makes it real. This film is successful enough to prove to us that, even though it still has its issues. A couple of writing decision is dumb and contradicted. Some of the scenes were not well executed. But it has so many references and pop cultures which pretty sure some of us would love it.
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Rating: 60.5
Plot
25%: 2
50%: 2
75%: 1.5
100%: 1.5
Favorite Characters
This is a funny and enjoyable movie worth the watch.Especially if you are a gamer.
Fun movie with a somewhat different approach to the lives of NPCs. It's easy to watch and to find several references do other movies and characters.
After ready player one though, it's just one more movie.
I found it interesting how the film brings a different air. The references are very good and the total integration on the subject of games... Fascinating!
Not to mention Ryan Reynolds, magnificent! I thought it would have some reference to Deadpool, but oh well. Hahaha
This one's for anyone who wonders what happens to incidental characters after the explosions peter out and the protagonist moves on to his next big adventure. Ryan Reynolds plays a bank teller in a Grand Theft Auto-inspired online shooter, perfectly happy to grovel and hand over the cash six times a day, until he dons a pair of special sunglasses which reveal the secret power-ups and meta games that were previously inaccessible to non-player types.
This, of course, shakes him to the core and forces him to question other habits and perceptions. The most successful bits all come when he's exploring that new freedom, fighting his programming to soar with the eagles while friends and acquaintances on the ground goggle in horror. Little slices of silly, no-consequence risk taking (a string of deaths reminiscent of Bill Murray in Groundhog Day), light jabs at the recurring server / player glitches familiar to any experienced gamer, swipes at the self-aggrandizing types who develop and maintain such digital realms... the targets are easy, but at least they're hit.
As everything condenses in the pursuit of a larger narrative, though, it comes up empty. Increasingly frequent shifts into "the real world" are dull and meandering, overstuffed with annoying stereotypes and centered around a vague plot device that falls apart under scrutiny. The timing was right to get serious - after an hour of light gamer comedy, I'd reached my limit - but this stuff is half-baked at best. Dumb and patronizing at worst. I groaned when all the Twitch streamers dropped in for key reaction cameos during the climax. Without Reynolds around to make the in-game scenes work, this would be terrible.
Ryan Reynolds delivers once again, as Lil Rel Howery ascends the throne as the "go to" buddy guy, while Taika Waititi does his "Taika Waititi thing" albeit a slightly more obnoxious version. Nothing deep or revolutionary here, just a fun popcorn movie that anyone who ever plopped a quarter in an arcade machine, or has held a controller pad is sure to enjoy. Well worth the watch!!
Pretty good movie with good laughs.
Free Guy has its ups, but it's not enough to be an impressive film. The script is not one of the best and seems to hide in the numerous visual effects.
Ryan reynolds reminds me of Jim carrey in this one, though i haven't really watched alot of his films and i know he's a funny guy. As a gamer girl, lotsa stuff they had in there cracked me up good, the random jumpings, t-bagging and glitching. Should've made them dodge roll around too coz that's what i do to get around faster XD Interesting storyline in this one but i wish they included a lil bit more games we know into it (i know, the copyright or whatever stuff you call it would be expensive) All in all, it's fun to watch and has a great ending~ Highly recommended~
One word for this film and that is disappointing.......honestly I don't know why I was expecting more and Free Guy just didn't deliver as the first half was fairly slow and then the second half felt like a different film that I did start to really enjoy. The story revolves around Ryan Reynolds (Guy) who is a video game character that suddenly starts to learn by himself and play the game he is in himself with him being inspired by real-life character Jodie Comer (Millie Rusk).
But what makes this film a little boring is a real-world stuff and what saves that part is the addition of Taika Waititi (Antwan Hovachelik) who knows how to have fun with ridiculous characters and knows when not to make a film too seriously, which this film does for some weird reason. And I have to say I think I am a bit tired of Ryan Reynolds just playing himself, with Deadpool it was creative but with this, it's literally that character but a bit boring.
What makes the second half better can be put down to it actually getting a little intense but you can definitely tell that was also when Disney took over the production a bit and usually I hate that, but in this film, it really helped big time.
I have to say though if you want to watch a much better version of this film that is fun but with an amazing story, just watch Ready Player One. Otherwise, this film is fun but super forgettable and a little played out / boring.
Insert cute review here. 5 words or more!
Entertaining and light....I had a good time, but 10 minutes after the credits ended....I forgot what I saw.
really interesting actually. maybe like a 6 or 7 out of 10, its boring at parts but yyyeah its cool ryan reynolds will probably be the tipping point to make it a 7 for me
A pointless, but fun movie that falls off at the end.
This movie looks like a mix of a lot of another movies (Ready Player One, The Lego Movie, The Truman Show, etc.) and games (Fortnite, The Sims, GTA, etc.). The movie also has some cool references of games and movies from pop culture.
I feel the movie tries to address a bunch of topics, but just stays in the surface of them. The movie story in real life (out of the game) is boring, and a thing that bored me a lot was the antagonist (Antwan), his decisions and personality, in fact the first half is quite better than the second one (after Taika appears).
The edition is great, but the ending is meh, at least the movie is funny.
Fun turn your brain off movie
this was perfect because it had ryan reynolds in it
A few years ago it would have been a big breakthrough, but we already have 4 Matrixes, 2 Wreck-It Ralphs and we've also seen Ready Player One... so there's another romantic story in the virtual world. ps. +1 for Disney licenses. ;>
This is a perfect matinee movie to watch when you're bored and just need something to do. It's pretty forgettable and lacks any real subtlety to its themes, but it's pretty and Ryan Reynolds is his usual Ryan Reynolds self. There are some really funny parts, a lot of mediocre attempts at humor, and too many obvious "emotional" beats, but again, it's light enough to entertain if you're not looking for a lot.
Loved this movie! And very realistic, considering the all the VR worlds popping up!
I assumed that it would be overrated but I had no idea by how much. Yes, it has some nice gags and cameos.
But not only is the complete plot hilariously absurd, it also is rarely funny and neither entertaining nor exciting. Heck, this movie is pretty much as unimaginative as NPCs in actual video games.
An interesting movie that is definitely a fun watch and Jodie Comer is at the top of her game playing her in game avatar and real life persona. It was a nice touch to have real streamers play themselves, it would just have been better if the female streamers had been given more to say other than "OMG he's so hot".
cheesy as hell, terrible ai portrayal, only adds confusion. classic reynolds
Other than my five star rating, " Childish " !
Ready for the sequel where one of the AIs picks up the security guard's gun and becomes evil
7,5
i actually did not expect to like this much!
Funny, endearing and that final fight scene was fantastic.
Ironic that the House of Mouse released a little gem of a movie about corporate greed, isn't it...
Anyway...
I enjoyed this one far more than I thought I would. There's something about that Ryan Reynolds. Most of the projects he's involved in, I end up liking. It's not all roses, of course, but who cares. It made me feel good, and I laughed a lot. Can't say that about every movie these days, can you...
Episode 10x04
Ryan Reynolds is the soul of this film and he makes it spectacular, I have enjoyed and liked everything it proposes, even though the whole plot is very white. I would recommend it to everyone because it is made with a lot of love, it also has good music, cameos and Easter eggs everywhere. VERY TOP.
I love the movie so much, it was perfect and my favorite movie of 2021 so far. I've watched it like five times already, and I'll probably watch it some more :D
Ahhhhhh so frustrating couldn't they just have coded a perfect npc version of Molotov for Guy so they could have lived happily forever after. That would have been a much better ending :sob:
This was funny too watch and soo great
i really liked!!
This ironic thing about this film is that it is about how a one dimensional background character develops into a real person, yet almost no character development takes place during the film - all of his changes are external. Furthermore, his journey from loser to hero happens almost overnight, resulting in a bland CGI mess with a single beautiful shot about halfway through.
There is no chemistry, the characters are mediocre, and while it's charming in some ways, the villain alone is atrocious. Anyone who knows anything about video games can see how out of touch these writers are with reality, and although reality would make a boring movie, it's laughable how much is unrealistic.
That and Ryan Reynolds is playing himself. Again.
Really freshing and unique i enjoyed every minute of it .Comer is so sweet i didn't know her before this movie but now i will definitely check her work.7.5/10
They just stole a bounch of other movies and the bad guy is just a joke.
I put off watching this cause I kinda got a Ryan Reynolds fatigue.
There are many things that make no sense. Like the servers stored in the same place as where the game is developed. Free City being shut down cause number 2 is being released. "there's no button for a kiss" but apparently there is one for any other interaction with an npc. But they tried. They tried their best to make it make sense and I apreciate that. Forget about all that and I just watched one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. Apart from the last realisation she's in love with the programmer (that was cheesy). Some great actors and I especially loved Channing Tatums bit. That dude really doesn't take himself serious and I love it. Clever film and can't wait for part two
It was not a good movie… it’s a GREAT MOVIE! I enjoyed every second of it. The jokes were hilarious and the Chris Evans scene BROKE ME! Ryan is one of the funniest actors alive!
This movie has no business being as fun as it is. There were so many moments when this movie simply made me smile from ear to ear because of its awareness of nerd culture. Free Guy also excels at exploiting all the possible references built into its premise, where the main character exists exclusively within a video game world. I’ll be the first to admit that I never expected this movie to be even passable after seeing the trailers, but now, I recommend it for anyone with even a passing awareness of nerd culture.
Free Guy is a frivolous yet extremely entertaining fictional film from the first minute. Exploring new genres from the glasses of AI, Shawn Levy kills it with Free Guy. Besides being exceedingly funny, it offers stunning game-centric visuals, VFX, and a charming Ryan Reynolds who is in top form here. Supported brilliantly by Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, and Joe Keery too. The world of AI is beyond our imagination and this film is the latest example of how much AI has the potential to evolve. With an audacious production value this is easily one of the best entertainers of this year.
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Obnoxious, loud movie with unfunny, played out jokes about nerds, virgins, basements and moms. The romantic ending was pathetic. Another low was the final battle being what Space Jam 2 was criticized for.
Sorry guy, it's not a great movie. Nothing makes sense, either from real life or a video game standpoint. But it was entertaining I have to give them that. Overall it's a fun movie to watch but pretty forgettable.
Free Guy is not original, take a few steps back and you are looking at a mangled version of Wreck-It-Ralph, which was funnier and more entertaining, and with a loose thread you can trace back to Blade Runner, the awful I Robot, A.I. and even Lars and the Real Girl, all of which go back further to the sculpture and statue coming to life and indeed love, Pygmalion. Okay it is tenuous but boil the meat off the bones and you have the story of something inanimate, created by the protagonist, coming to life and learning to live, love, hate and all points in between. Is the ‘statue’ really alive, is Free Guy really alive? That is the story, the trick is what you do with that story, how you package it and give it your own twists.
The initial setup with Ryan Reynolds and his friend – the problems that throws up with the storyline are brushed over so I will brush over too – Buddy, played with charming likeableness by Lil Rel Howery, sets the story up and sets it up well. It is amusing and shows the life of the NPCs to some effect. The real problems start when the ‘player’ of Molotov Girl, played by the latest British star to catch the evil eye of Hollywood, Jodie Cromer, sashays her way onto the screen. Guy is immediately affected by her she is the one.
Perhaps it was just me but there was no chemistry between Cromer and Reynolds at all on the screen, nothing. I just could not see his bland character falling for her even blander character, they were strictly 'pass by in the street characters' with ne’er a glance back. But we are being set up for an unlikely computer character love match with a ‘real person’ – interesting perhaps but how do you get yourself out of this?
The answer is double up with another chemistry-free love-interest, so it is a love triangle between three people none of which you believe even looked like they would be friends, yup, it is Walter ‘Keys’ McKee played by Joe Keery, who unfortunately was not believable as love-interest or a game genius, but he tried hard.
The film runs with two stories side by side in-game and real-world, neither is sufficiently interesting or believable enough to keep your attention. True there are some fun moments, some truly impressive screen effects but these alone do not make a great, or even good, film.
The biggest problem for me is the casting. All the main cast are reasonable actors with decent work behind them but in this film it did not work. Cromer and Keery come straight off the back of hugely popular television shows but for crying out loud that is not a reason to cast someone, well it is if you want to make money and get bums on seats, but they must fit together and in this film they do not. Reynolds, Cromer and Keery have no chemistry between them – they are inert. The star, Ryan Reynolds, like a lot of ‘stars’ in Hollywood seems to get by playing the same character in every movie, in this one he is the harmless version, in Deadpool, he is the harmful version, but it is the same character. Deadpool is much a better version, so perhaps a violent, nasty, foul-mouthed Ryan Reynolds is better.
For a film where one of the characters is a computer-generated, bland, one-dimensional NPC it takes some skill to make the most seemingly computer-generated, bland, one-dimensional character a human being in the real world. Taika Waititi chews the scenery with obvious delight, clearly thinks everyone is having as much fun as he is, and straight from the Steven Segal school of acting his motivation is ‘evil’. That is it, his character, Antwan, the source-code stealing, owner of Soonami is evil, nothing else just mean and evil. Fair enough.
Despite the effects, the video game tropes and nods, after a while your attention starts to wander, only the introduction of the monstrous 6-foot 7-inch Aaron W Reed as a sort of ‘super-Free-Guy’ brings you attention back online, here there is some funny moments.
The story peters out to a huge lame ending that makes no sense, even within this film’s world, and everything is neatly tied up in a bow. People generally liked this film, but I cannot understand why they have not seen this all before, but better, more interesting and entertaining. It was so boilerplate I could see the rivets.
The acting ranged from quite poor, Waititi, conventional Utkarsh Ambudkar as Keys’ boss(?) who at least has a sort of arc, to bland, Comer and Keery. The effects are good and impressive but the storyline, screenplay is a bit…well crap. I am not big gamer, but I do play games, and a question I kept asking was what the heck game was Free City? I think the people involved in making the film think that open-world means starting a game and doing whatever you want to for hours on end, and whilst in these games you can do that, there is usually a mission, a purpose, and in video gaming you get killed by NPCs and tricky situations. It appeared nobody in Free City did, they just logged on, killed and destroyed things, collected winnables and did this for hours on end. This game would not last. The less said about Keys and Millie’s ‘game’ the better.
Free Guy used the same vision of video gamers that every TV show and film uses, all useless nerds that live with their parents, it is lazy and clearly not true, but heck it is easy and everyone will think it is funny. As a film it does not understand the media it is supposedly celebrating and for an industry that is fun, bring enjoyment to a lot of people and generates money and work, it made video game seem dull and derivative.
That is some achievement.
Watch any other inanimate creation imbued with life film, in fact I recommend the other Ryan, Ryan Gosling in Lars and the Real Girl, which is a similar story and much more entertaining, and it will make you think. Free Guy is designed to do the opposite.
Wghat a shitty story but acting 10/10 Visual 9/10 Story 1/10
Meh.
Starts off well enough. A bit Truman, a little Groundhog, a little Ready Player... But then it spends too little on time on the relationship and it all falls apart.
No emotional involvement and just one silly game animation after another.
Ryan Reynolds plays Deadpool or Hitamn's Bodyguard for the tenth time and he is fine. The plot though isn't.
It felt terribly long that second hour. Not Suicide Squad shit but not worthy of any hype.
6.25/10
If you're a geek , you should definitely rent this! it has a bazillion pop culture references, plenty of fun cgi, and a whole lotta sh1t blowing up. The cameo was icing on an entertaining cake. I thoroughly enjoyed watching and I hope Mr Reynolds makes a sequel.
don't have a good day, have a great day! :coffee:
Fun, action and all of what a nerd likes and beyond!!! So wow moments I can’t describe. Sometimes I felt the movie was reading my mind!!!!
If you are a gamer this is for you, but not for me that is not to say it was boring.
15% Cringe
5% Ryan Reynolds playing the same character as in other movies
80% That's not how it works. That's not how any of this works
This was my second movie at the theater since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and I have to be honest—it wasn't great. It was so cheesy that I thought I was watching a Green Bay Packers game, but I did chuckle a few times, particularly at the Star Wars references.
Was it entertaining? Sure, at times, but I'm so glad my ticket only cost me about $5. I'd never spend another $5 on it again, but it did allow me to go to the theater again, so I'll give it some credit where credit is due.
Does anybody hear have an urge to play a video game now, even if you don't usually play video games?
Spectacular CGI - especially watching it in 4K - 10/10
(my first movie doing so...guess who's buying a new TV this week).
Story is OK - 6/10
Comedy doesn't happen til the end when he's fighting the muscle-guy - 4/10
I looked forward to watching this for ages and was severely disappointed in the end :-(
5.5/10
A little bit too long, but a funny idea.
Enjoyable movie :clapper:. Ryan Reynolds playing Ryan Reynolds! Overall good entertainment, just enjoy and don't expect to much. :thumbsup_tone1:
Lego Movie meets Wreck-It Ralph meets Ready Player One. It works though and Ryan Reynolds is of course in good form.
It started ok, but it went downhill quite quickly. Few funny moments, nice effects, and the main story line taken from Tron.
Hollywood should just forget about video games. Stop adapting them, stop mentioning them at all. If they can't even adopt a fake one, just stop. Did the writer of this trash even play a game or seen one? Who was this for? For the developers that they portray as idiots? Or the gamers showed to be little kids? They even put streamers into it. Yes, I want more low-quality content in the movie.
Shout by EnjayeffBlockedParent2021-10-23T21:16:14Z
This is a a pretty bland film in the end - don’t get me wrong, it’s somewhat enjoyable ..but it takes itself too seriously and doesn’t lean in to the silliness. Oh but wow, Disney money means the movie looks so polished and has a LOT of licensed songs