From director Shawn Levy (Date Night, The Internship), Free Guy is a 2021 action comedy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn. A bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, decides to become the hero of his own story…one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way…before it is too late.
The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Joe Keery, and Taika Waititi.
Free Guy released in theaters on August 13th, courtesy of 20th Century Studios.
THE GOOD
Fair warning, this section might go on forever. Free Guy has been circled on my calendar for what seems like forever, and with each and every trailer that dropped I was getting more and more excited. I am a full on Ryan Reynolds fanboy, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I’ve seen Waiting… and Van Wilder 200 times between the two, if not more. And if that wasn’t enough, he went and became everyone’s favorite antihero Deadpool, and now he is nothing short of a national treasure. Yeah, I said it. Next enter New Zealand native Taika Waititi, who I first became familiar with after watching one of my favorite coming-of-age films, Hunt for the Wilderpeople (full review here), which is now streaming on Hulu and Netflix. Waititi’s unique and creative brand of heartfelt humor immediately won me over, and I will happily support any project he is involved in. Now we are lucky enough to have Reynolds and Waititi working together, not counting Green Lantern of course, and the sky is the limit.
My expectations were through the roof, and I absolutely LOVED this movie. I loved it in the insatiable way I love NFL Football or Chinese food, I just can’t seem to get enough of either one. An action comedy that literally sets the bar, a very high bar, for all other action comedies while nearly creating it’s own genre altogether. Free Guy is hilarious, unique, action-packed, heartfelt, and just really, really, really, entertaining. Within the first 60 seconds of the movie I wanted to watch it again because I could tell right away this was going to be the incredible movie I was hoping for, and then some.
To say it was worth the wait after numerous delays would be a gigantic understatement. As a huge movie fan dating back to when I was still in diapers, there is nothing quite like going to the movie theater and being so absolutely immersed in a movie that by the time it ends, you feel like you just woke up from the best dream you’ve ever had. And that my friends, sums up Free Guy. It seriously felt like I was in a private theater because of how locked in I was from start to finish, I mean sure everyone laughed out loud throughout the movie, but their laughs were drowned out by my own. It’s just that good.
You can just feel how much fun everyone involved had working on Free Guy, from director Shawn Levy, the entire cast right down to the crew behind the scenes, nothing feels forced or artificial (see what I did there?). The premise itself is actually extremely smart and refreshing, and I was impressed by the fact that the trailers actually didn’t give away the sequence of events like most trailers seem to nowadays. I thought the pacing was great, and the movie never felt boring, not even for a minute. Writers Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn deserve a ton of credit. Penn actually co-wrote the screenplay for Ready Player One, which of course makes sense, and he also wrote the script for The Avengers. He is a talented guy with a pen, or keyboard I guess, at his disposal.
Free Guy will draw plenty of comparisons to other movies, and rightfully so, but at the end of the day it’s biggest strength is the simple fact that it still feels unique, almost like it somehow dips into an entirely new genre. Most people will think of Ready Player One, which was very entertaining and quite a spectacle on the big screen especially in IMAX 3D, but the reality is it pales in comparison to Free Guy, at least in my opinion. It’s weird to say and I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but this is essentially a videogame movie that somehow manages to not feel like a videogame movie, if that makes any sense at all. It taps into our innate need for human interaction, and also reminds us that sometimes doing nice things feels pretty damn good. Free Guy is just so much fun, and I don’t think the ear to ear smile I had left my face during the entire movie.
Like any successful open-world video game, Free Guy feels immersive and alive, with excellent characters which are a huge strength of the film. Which brings me to the cast, which is nothing short of spectacular. Ryan Reynolds once again proves that he doesn’t just play a role, he literally becomes his character. His portrayal of Guy is without a doubt the backbone of this movie, and once again cements his place as one of the most multi-talented actors working today. I loved Lil Rel Howery in his role as Guy’s co-worker and best friend, Buddy. The two have great chemistry together and really help to bring this virtual world known as Free City, to life. Howery and his perfectly timed comedic delivery just keeps getting better with each movie he is a part of. Jodie Comer is awesome in her starring role alongside Reynolds, and I honestly barely recognized her when she was playing her “in game character”. She is beautiful and talented, a real dual-threat. Joe Keery is great as well, and his chemistry with Comer feels genuine. I also really enjoyed Utkarsh Ambudkar in his supporting role.
I LOVED Taika Waititi’s character, and thought he was the perfect bad guy for this movie. Bad guy is a loose term in this context though, as he is far from a “bad ass”. First of all, his New Zealand accent is the best thing ever and I really need a Korg and Deadpool spinoff in the MCU, like yesterday. In Free Guy, he is basically a hilarious version of Kevin Spacey’s character in horrible bosses, but much more eccentric and arguably more diabolical. Just a super, super douche-y boss. But still, very funny. Maybe I have an unhealthy infatuation with the East Coast of New Zealand native, but I was basically giddy during every scene that he was in.
One of my absolute favorite thing about Free Guy has to be the amazing cameo appearances, one of which is actually not a cameo but a huge star in a pivotal role, and I did not expect it. The connection to YouTuber’s and streamers leads to a ton of cool cameo’s from some of the biggest names in the industry, but I am not ashamed to admit most of which I didn’t even recognize. My mission in life is to keep my 2 1/2 year old from going down that YouTube/Twitch rabbit hole, and so far, so good. But don’t get me wrong, I certainly get the appeal. The movie also has a very bittersweet posthumous cameo from Jeopardy’s very own Alex Trebek, a real legend. My favorite cameo by far is towards the end of the film during one of the fighting scenes, and no joke I nearly jumped out of my seat. It is literally killing me that I can’t talk to anyone about it quite yet, but I am a man of my word and as per usual, no spoilers. Just please, see this movie ASAP and reach out so we can talk about it like a couple kids at recess without a care in the world. Don’t make it weird.
The technical side of the film is hotter than that bikini photo Blake Lively shared to help promote Free Guy for her loving hubby. Yeah, I went there. The soundtrack is simply ahhhhhmazing, headlined by the likes of the one and only, Mariah Carey. It sets the tone for the movie in such a fun and hilarious way, and really gets the juices flowing. Oh and the 1981 song “Genius of Love” by the Tom Tom Band, which is also playing in the trailer, will forever remind me of the It’s Always Sunny “The Gang Squashes Their Beefs” episode during the super awkward yet pee my pants hilarious scene where DeVito and the landlord are having some sort of weird dance-off. So good, and definitely worth a Google. The CGI and special effects are top notch as well of course, but more impressively they somehow manage to not overpower the story and instead are a contributing factor.
THE BAD
As you can surely tell by now, this movie met and far exceeded my expectations. I would honestly have a hard time imagining anyone not enjoying Free Guy, but just like in life, you can’t please everyone. I’m sure some will cry and moan about the PG-13 rating instead of just going all out with a Deadpool-esque R-rating, to which I would argue it is much more difficult to pull off a legitimately hilarious movie for adults within the strict confines of a PG-13 rating. I think the wholesome qualities are part of why the movie is so good. Aside from that, why anyone would dislike this movie, especially after watching the trailers, is anyone’s guess.
THE VERDICT
If Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row had a baby, and that baby was adopted by Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi and raised in a loving and supportive home, that baby would be named Free Guy, and it would be nicknamed the movie of the year. Period. I understand that is quite a statement to be making, but this movie was by far the most fun I’ve had at the theater this year. Sorry Jungle Cruise (review here), you still hold a special place in my heart. I can’t wait to see this movie again (and again, and again), and you should definitely take my advice and see it as soon as humanely possible.
TED TAKES RATING - 9.2/10
Free Guy is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.