Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021 ~ ADVOCATE MOVIE REVIEW ~ “Free Guy” is a Surprisingly Sweet Video Game Send-Up By Mitch Ringenberg mer blockbuster. F ive years ago, “Deadpool” fi nally gave Ryan Reynolds the massive leading-man stardom that misfi res like “Green Lantern” and “R.I.P.D.” failed to generate. Since then, Reynolds has attached himself to a whirlwind of big-budget franchises at a dizzying rate. Between “Detective Pikachu,” “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” and now “Free Guy,” the actor’s inimitable brand of snark and selfdeprecating humor could soon be in danger of overstaying its welcome. Thankfully, “Free Guy” deliberately tones down Reynolds’ cutesy cynicism and mostly succeeds as a surprisingly sweet and earnest sumReynolds stars as Guy, a non-playable character (NPC for short) in a free-roam multiplayer video game named Free City, a place where players are free to rob, shoot and blow up as much as they desire. As security guards at the local bank, Guy and his best friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) stick to their daily routine of lying face down on the ground with their hands behind their heads without much complaint. His life’s purpose is to literally stay in the background of all the action. That is until one day when the appearance of Millie (Jodie Comer) inspires him to go off - script and win her aff ections by playing the hero. corporations value profi t over artistic merit. It’s not necessarily groundbreaking insight, yet coming from a faceless director Shawn Levy (previously best known for the “Night at the Museum” franchise), any ambition at all is welcome. Ultimately however, “Free As Guy is unaware that he’s a video game character, “Free Guy’s” central conceit makes the movie feel like “The Truman Show” by way of “Ready Player One.” And while it certainly doesn’t even come close to the heights of that Jim Carrey masterpiece, it does have what “Player One” lacked: a soul. Millie, the girl of Guy’s dreams, is actually one of the video game’s designers in real life, and the more she gets to know Guy in the game, questions about the nature of artifi cial intelligence and the existence of a soul arise. And no, I’m not kidding. Don’t get me wrong, “Free Guy” isn’t exactly a philosophical treatise on the human condition or anything, but it is more thoughtful than your typical large-scale studio flick. Even the villain, video game CEO Antoine (played with an over-thetop zeal by Taika Waititi) and his quest to erase all traces of artifi - cial intelligence from Free City serves as a commentary on how Guy” is still the big, glossy, made-by-committee movie you’ve seen in the advertisements. It’s littered with references to Disney and superhero properties as if only to fl ex how much money has been put behind its making, and cameos from Twitch stars and YouTubers feel like a naked ploy to appease middle schoolers in the audience. Still, when all is said and done, it’s really just impressive how palatable the fi nal product is. In a summer overloaded with forgettable dreck like “Jungle Cruise” and “Black Widow,” one could do far worse than spending their afternoon with a well-intentioned dude like Guy.
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