Free Guy (2021)

This is such a good movie, its got everything, a bit of sillyness, romance and action, the whole family really enjoyed it in fact the whole audience was laughing and clapping, not something you normally get in an Australian cinema. If you are debating what to watch at the cinemas watch this one its a blast and you wont be disappointed.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/free-guy-spoiler-free-review "Free Guy possesses a remarkable tribute to the gaming community, but it's the surprisingly clever, thematically rich screenplay that makes it one of my favorite films of the year. In addition to the impressive visuals, hilarious comedy bits, and thrilling action sequences, Shawn Levy, Matt Lieberman, and Zak Penn offer a brilliant narrative that deeply explores human nature and what the viewers perceive as "real". Superb acting from the entire cast, namely Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer, and jaw-dropping cameos genuinely elevate the overall experience. Honestly, it might be the very first movie to prove that Disney owning every major studio also has its perks. What could have been "just a videogame flick" is actually a nerdgasmic, super exciting viewing with emotionally compelling characters and an extraordinarily smart story. I couldn't recommend it more to gamers, but don't let my words mislead you: Free Guy is a blast of entertainment for everyone!" Rating: A

**Ouch and Cringe** This "Ready Player One" clone is just as dumb and non-immersive as the original, only here we get our hopes up in the first 20 minutes or so. We get setup nicely with truly funny video game references, top notch CGI and clever dialogue. But then the flick degenerates into the same old, same old: boring villain, plot is unoriginal, action is magic, hacking is imagined by someone not owning a computer (probably just a smart phone) and finally, the philosophical idea of a first AI ever is not explored in the slightest. I know this is just supposed to be a "feel-good" film, but critical thinkers will not feel good watching this drivel. Something this trivial simply does not deserve a high score, even if it does what it's supposed to.

Free Guy was unexpected... This movie was a unexpected good movie to watch. Ryan Reynolds has quietly put together some good movies with her sense of humor / personality coming out in the roles he plays. This movie is more of a romantic comedy if you look at it as a whole. I truly enjoyed the experience of watching the development of the story and the cast. If you like Ryan Reynolds comedy you will enjoy this movie!

Ultimately, while _Free Guy_ has an amazing concept, it’s trapped within a massively underwhelming execution. Admittedly, the film looks like it was an absolute blast to make, but also incredibly expensive. This tall budget, combined with public hesitancy to return to theaters and the Delta variant of COVID seemingly on the verge of backtracking all the progress we’ve made since the vaccine became readily available to the public, it makes you wonder if _Free Guy_ has any sort of chance of making a respectable amount of money at the box office or even just breaking even. Note: This was originally written when the film opened in theaters. _Free Guy_ would go on to make $331.5 million on a $100-$125 million budget. A sequel is currently in the works. **Full review**: https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/08/17/free-guy-review-artificial-excellence
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**Free Guy captures the wonder and goofiness of Elf, except with video games and Ryan Reynolds.** Free Guy is a fun yet heartwarming film that feels like the video game version of Elf with Ryan Reynolds playing the fish out of water goofy character with a heart of gold. Ryan Reynolds' Guy is filled with awe and wonder as he experiences things that the real world would consider mundane but, to him, are spectacular. The romance between the two lead characters is awkward at first, but the payoff at the end makes it worthwhile. All the video game easter eggs throughout make Free Guy a love letter to gamers, but the plot and acting keep it entertaining for anyone. Shawn Levy's experience with the Night at the Museum franchise and Real Steel prove his skill at making fun family films that adults can enjoy alongside their kids. Levy's lighthearted directing and Ryan Reynolds' goofy antics are a perfect combination making Free Guy a delightful movie that is worth a watch.

The story of this movie is a pretty cool idea but unfortunately it is somewhat ruined by Disney’s woke brigade. I have to say that I quite enjoyed the first third of this movie even though said woke brigade managed to throw in some woke unnecessary bullshit about “white privilege” quite early but from there it went rather downhill. The first third had plenty of over the top hilarious action in it. It was fun to watch. The parts where Free Guy learns to “level up” and kick ass where quite cool. From there on it started to go downhill. The idea that Millie should access some “hidden level” in the game to reveal evidence that Antwan had stolen code from her is rather ludicrous. Speaking of Antwan, can you say “over the top”? Sometimes over the top can be fun but this guy was just cringey. Although there were still plenty of cool CGI effects in the latter half of the movie it was pretty much ruined for me by several completely unnecessary strongly sexual scenes. I do not need some guy touching another guys “boobs” in my films and I do not need any boob touching at all in a movie for all audiences. Overall, at this point the movie becomes more an attempt at social engineering, propaganda and agenda feeding. The ending? It was, not very surprisingly at this point, rather meh. To me the movie more or less ended when Millie’s original level was found. The rest was just dragging it out with some rubbish about being able to do whatever you wanted and nonsense about there being so many people not wanting to actual play a game (shooter) but just mill around and watch. Sorry, people wants to play games, if not to shoot things (which most people actually wants to do) so at least to do something. Not just to watch. Also the rubbish with Antwan trashing servers to hide evidence? The usual Hollywood nonsense. No way anyone, even a game studio, running a game or service that big would not have back-ups. Too bad, it was a good idea and some parts where really cool and fun to watch but their woke brigade and Hollywood script writer’s stupidity.

Loved this film. It's pitched just right at kids and adults. Such a clever script and great story both at face value and on a deeper level of breaking out of a rut and putting some sunglasses on. Great acting, great plot and great script (The Dude has some great lines). Highly recommended family film.