When a NPC named Guy discovers that his world is an open-world online game known as "Free City", he, along with a player who is trying to take down the corrupt CEO of the studio responsible for "Free City", try to save the digital world before the anticipated sequel will cause all servers to shut down. While the premise alone has its fair share of fun, the story itself is bogged down by a sub-plot regarding some programmers who are trying to prove that their code was used in "Free City". The sub-plot with these characters has way too much techno lingo and the characters aren't that engaging to warrant the sub-plot. On top of that, you can tell that the film was edited down due to some oversimplification and cut jokes missing from the film in contrast to the trailers. Then again, the story isn't really a big deal for comedies as long as the tone and humour lands. While the tone is fantastically over-the-top, the jokes are kind of hit-and-miss. Slapstick, visual gags, and some witty dialogue do bring a laugh here and there, but the overuse of Youtuber cameos and a need to be hip and cool for younger viewers really make the film feel more dated in trying to reach towards the internet/gamer demographic.
Ryan Reynolds as the titular Guy is as loveable as ever. His naivety and excitement upon his new discoveries in life are just fun to watch and contagious in how Reynolds gives off a great level of charisma. Jodie Comer as Molotov Girl/Mille, the player Guy falls in love with and is forced to join for a bigger journey works really well off of Reynolds both for the comedy and dramatic sequences. Whenever the film is focused on the two of them, it's really enjoyable, which can't be said for the side characters. Lil Rey Howrey as Buddy, Guy's security guard friend, is fine as a Kevin Hart personality, but he's very underused in the film. Joe Kerry as Keys, a programmer who is trying to reconnect with Millie, is horribly miscast as the geeky and mild-mannered desk jockey. It's really hard to make Steve Harrington a nerd, no matter how great Kerry is as an actor. Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser, Key's co-worker and underling to Antwan, should have been casted as Keys himself due to being having far more of a nerdy demeanor than Kerry. Lastly, Taika Waititi as Antwan, the evil video game publisher who only cares about money, portrays greedy CEO's as a hippy millennial rather than the more realistic out-of-touch businessman. Waititi is doing his best, but Antwan is just a bad guy for the sake of being bad and his personality clashes with the overall mentality of his business. I would say that the Youtuber cameos can be considered characters since they show up way too much, but the celebrities they got are painfully wooden and misrepresented content-wise. Overall, Reynolds and Comer work really well off each other and by themselves, but the rest of the side cast are either underutilized, miscast, poorly characterized or overstay their welcome.
Shawn Levy is known for his work on various comedies and "Stranger Things", which explains his sense of skill and visual eye in this film. "Free City" is essentially a coked-up "GTA Online" where crazy antics and violence occurs every minute, which helps to the film's tone and identity. "Free City", for the most part, feels like a realistic video game that could be made. Levy also adds just enough easter eggs for gamers that it doesn't overtake the film to make it feel like a video game movie. While Levy's directing isn't extremely stylized or creative, he does inject plenty of colour and personality into every scene. The editing by Dean Zimmerman is good for the most part, but there are some odd cuts and the film has way too much of a fast pace that keeps the film from being even more enjoyable than ever. The cinematography by George Richmond is pretty good with some creative tracking and wrap-around shots. The original score by Christophe Beck is really generic and unmemorable, while the licensed soundtrack is good despite overusing Mariah Carey's "Fantasy". The visual effects are decent in that it's not meant to look extremely realistic, but good enough to blend well enough in the background. The action sequences are surprisingly enjoyable due to how creative they can be. From Guy's escape from the police, the team-up of Guy and Millie against various guards, and the hilarious and pop-culture-filled fight between Guy and a muscled-up clone. Even though Levy isn't particularly known for his directing, his work here shows that he's far better than most in his field in comedy filmmaking, even some that work for Marvel.
"Free Guy" is by no means a bad movie, but it's not as great as some critics make it out to be. On the positive side, the premise and tone are fun, some of the jokes are hilarious, Reynolds and Comer are a great comedic duo, Richmond's cinematography has its shining moments, the CGI is good for what it is, and Levy's direction shows that he has a sense of style, passion, and skill in the action and world-building. However, the film suffers on the story focusing on the programming sub-plot, some jokes fail due to trying too hard to appeal to the younglings and overusing Youtuber cameos, characters such as Buddy and Mouser are underutilized, Kerry is miscast as Keys, Waititi is struggling to make anything from a generic villain role as Antwan, the Youtuber cameos are poorly implemented and date the film, the editing by Zimmerman has its issues, and the original score and licensed soundtrack leave a lot to be desired. It's still an enjoyable film for what it is, but it can struggle from its established flaws and the dangers of being dated over the years to make it fall into obscurity.
Verdict: 6.5/10. Decent action-comedy, but could have been more tightly written and timeless if things were changed around. Still worth a watch to have some really good laughs and enjoyment!
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