We left Ryan Reynolds in the bodycon jumpsuit
Dead Pool. We find him in a blue shirt all-around for Free Guy by Shawn Levy. Except that, in this fantasy, the actor does not play the superhero of the video game in which he lives but an “NPC” or “non-player character” controlled by a computer server which governs his thoughts and actions. .
Every day, this nice, well-dressed young man reproduces the same gestures and witnesses violent actions regulated by the heroes of his universe, piloted at a distance by fierce players. When this Mister Everybody realizes his mediocre condition, he decides to rewrite the game and give himself a brighter role. 20 minutes explains why we follow its evolution with happiness.
Ryan Reynolds’ sympathy capital
Ryan Reynolds is good humor so we want to see him win. He knows how to show enough self-mockery to be credible as a clumsy hero as well as a badly programmed “big muscle”. We understand why the heroine fits in (played by Jodie Comer seen in the series Killing Eve) fell for him. Their relationship between action scenes and romantic comedy is very balanced.
Obvious references (or not)
The geek who sleeps in each spectator will be at the party because the director of Night at the Museummultiplies the nods to classics of popular culture. Impossible not to think about Truman Show by Peter Weir, Los Angeles Invasion by John Carpenter or One endless day Ivan Reitman without forgetting of course, Ralph’s Worlds by Rich Moore and his parody of the fun video universe.
To write the story, the writers obviously thought of Grand Theft Auto. But maybe also to the sharpest Doki Doki Literature Club, video game created in 2017 in which a high school student decimates her rivals by erasing them when she discovers that they are all part … of a video game.
Good-natured humor
It is a real pleasure to see the hero walking through a town dedicated to a life-size game. Tanks, machine guns, burglary, car chases, destruction of buildings, superheroes in costumes and other similar delusions are part of his daily life to such an extent that he no longer notices them, which makes the whole irresistible. You don’t have to be a die-hard gamer to recognize the archetypes Shawn Levy has fun with.
He has simmered an action comedy that will appeal to fans of controllers as well as those who know nothing about video games. Free Guy is really very funny.