Just had an absolute blast with FREE GUY in the cinema. A ridiculously entertaining sci-fi comedy movie, like a hollywood-amped, non-depressing, joyously fun episode of Black Mirror.
The story is about Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a lowly bank teller, with no idea that he’s merely a computer-generated NPC in a massive online video game. Until one day, a chance encounter breaks him out of his loop and opens his eyes to the wider world beyond.
As GALAXY QUEST lovingly parodied Star Trek, FREE GUY gets big laughs with the online game genre. This is the most fun Ryan Reynolds movie since 2016’s DEADPOOL. There’s some amusing supporting characters, and some brilliant cameos that I’m not going to spoil. The only slight blemish on it might be Taika Waititi’s casting as the nominal main villain. He’s not terrible, but I can’t help but think it needed someone a bit more… I dunno… villainous in that role. Robert Downey Junior would have been perfect.
Anyway, it’s only a minor crit on what is otherwise a terrific movie. It’s not going to win any Oscars, but as a vehicle for delivering about 2 hours of solid entertainment, it’s easily been the best I’ve had this year (admittedly not that that’s saying much!)
