Free Guy Review: Worth the Ticket Price!

Directed by Shawn Levy, Free Guy is a 2021 action-comedy with Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Corner in the primary roles. And, perhaps, I should open by saying that there are still a few intriguing concepts for Hollywood to scrounge for and discover for their movies.

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Free Guy is the new Truman Show. Except, instead of a man reaching to terms with being the guinea pig of a fabricated reality within a sitcom, it’s a background NPC unveiling the truth that his existence is restricted to a mere video game program. Our lead actor, Ryan Reynolds, somehow was able to convince me he is an everyday working Joe through this film, with his natural charisma and core humanity fully on display. I call this the “Ryan Reynolds Effect.”

Free Guy takes the pop culture of the modern-day and embraces it in its story. For once, I am watching a movie that seems to exert more effort in conveying the nature of the culture it is exploring, rather than turning out to be a disconnected studio gamble.

There is heart put into Free Guy, at least to an extent. The acting is strong from Ryan Reynolds and his supporting cast. The action scenes are pretty engaging and decently shot. The film does take initiative in getting the audience to care for the characters and tries to amplify its narrative beyond just milking the concept behind it. The film also had some effective and unexpected comedic moments that got a laugh from me.

The quality of the script of Free Guy can only go so far, however. There are just as many failed attempts at comedy as there are successful ones. The film includes cameos from popular gaming celebrities that take up too much time on screen, time that could be spent further developing the core character.

The VFX is not all too impressive, as some of it felt unpolished for a big blockbuster film in 2021. The pacing of the narrative drags on for an excessive amount of time. And the film is bogged down with irrelevant scenes that could be completely cropped or, as said before, replaced with moments that focus on the character of Guy and the world he occupies.

I expected Free Guy to be a pretty generic popcorn flick, but I had a considerable amount of fun with it. Sure, it does miss quite a few beats, but the opportunities it takes to humor the audience, and the performances from the cast, make it worth the ticket price.

‘Free Guy’ Rating – 3/5

Follow Zach (the Author) on Instagram – @pretentiousfilmcritic

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