“Free Guy” was released in 2021. It received positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Plus, it made enough money at the box office. Recently, a sequel is currently in the works. Shawn Levy (Cheaper By The Dozen, Real Steel, Night At The Museum Trilogy) will produce the fourth and final fifth season of “Stranger Things” with Joe Keery reprising his role as Steve Harrington. Before the highly anticipated Netflix series streams both seasons, I wanna share my thoughts on Free Guy. Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love And Thunder” will be released on July 8th, 2022. One more thing, the movie is nominated at The 94th Academy Awards for “Best Visual Effects.”
This review contains no huge SPOILERS. I’m giving many of you a chance to see this movie.
Upgrade & Downgrade Aspects
Upgrade: Ryan Reynolds did a fantastic job for his performance. He also co-produced the film.
Other Cast Members such as Jodie Comer, Lil Rey Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar & Taika Waititi all did a great job for their respective performances.
Fun Fact: Both Ryan & Taika appeared in the DC Comics blunder “Green Lantern.” They both redeemed themselves as Deadpool & Korg from “Thor: Ragnarok.” They even reprise their roles under “Deadpool & Korg React” to promote Free Guy.
Shawn Levy did a fantastic job directing. He also produced the film courtesy of his production company 21 Laps Entertainment.
Matt Lieberman (The Christmas Chronicles, Scoob) & Zak Penn (Behind Enemy Lines, Ready Player One)
Action Sequences were awesome. Not a single one never felt boring.
Visual Effects are Class A quality building Free City’s immersive world. There’s a reason why it’s nominated for an Oscar. If the game were real, I would definitely waste my time.
Humor is well written allowing Ryan to portray a naive protagonist like Chris Pratt’s performance as Emmett from “The Lego Movie.”
Chemistry between Guy & Millie serve as the main highlight. Their interactions move the story forward.
Character Development involving Guy. As the film progresses, he goes beyond his programming adapting to his surroundings as an individual.
Cinematography felt stable lacking excessive Shaky Cam.
Free City is based on video game franchises including “Grand Theft Auto,” “Saints Row” & “The Sims.”
The movie is influenced by “The Truman Show, The Lego Movie & “Ready Player One.”
Soonami is based on video game companies Konami, Electronic Arts, Blizzard & Bethesda. Basically a middle finger to the aforementioned companies losing credibility.
There’s so many pop culture references. Think you can spot ‘em?
Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” is played in significant moments. Ryan & Mariah are friends in real life. The song was also used in “Rush Hour.”
Logic’s “100 Miles And Running” is played during a montage sequence. Logic is one of my favorite rappers. He also streams video games on Twitch.
There’s a legit reason why Guy broke his programming.
Without giving anything away, Guy fights a stronger version of himself. For those who’ve seen it, Guy’s fight with a clone earns Bonus Points as the best part.
If you wanna spice things up a notch, play a drinking game while watching Free Guy. Take a shot every time somebody utters out the words free and Guy. I’d stick to water and non-alcoholic drinks. I do not condone alcohol poisoning.
Channing Tatum, Matty Cardarople, (Keith from Stranger Things) Chris Evans & the late Alex Trebek have cameos.
After seeing Free Guy once, I rewatched it for subtle hints.
Downgrade: I couldn’t find anything wrong. I’m giving The Cast & Crew an Extra Point for making a flawless movie as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
From my perspective, Free Guy is a sleeper hit. At first, I thought it was gonna be a carbon copy of Ready Player One. Upon watching Free Guy, it was its own movie appealing to me as both a gamer and movie goer. If you’re interested in seeing Free Guy, I strongly recommend it. Another great gem added to one of my favorite films of 2021 alongside “No Time To Die,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” “King Richard” & “Tick Tick Boom.”
Nickthemoviecritic.com 