“Free Guy” is an ultimately charming, thought-provoking picture. Although it has its share of action sequences, far more interesting are the philosophical concepts it raises.

The story is based in two worlds. The first is our “real world,” in which we find Millie (Jodie Comer) trying to get justice for the theft of a video game that she co-created. The thief is Antwan (Taika Waititi), who is the CEO of Soonami Studios. She is convinced that Antwan stole the code that she developed to create his company’s popular, ultra-violent, open-world “Free City” video game.

Complicating matters is that her co-creator, Keys (Joe Keery), having accepted the theft of their game, now works for Soonami Studios. He has an unreciprocated love for Millie. Millie tries to recruit Keys to help her prove the theft of their code.

The second world is the one inside “Free City.” We see Guy (Ryan Reynolds) waking up day after day to the same routine. He is a non-playing character (NPC), so his code is set. He works as a teller at a bank, and each day he and his best friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) are robbed by the avatars of real-world players of the game.

Then one day Guy sees Molotovgirl (Millie’s avatar in the game) and is smitten. He follows her against his programmed code. Subsequently he stumbles upon the sunglasses used by one of the avatars and starts to see the game as a player would.

As time goes by, and Guy’s days are less repetitive, people start to notice him. They call his NPC “Blue-shirt guy” and he becomes a worldwide sensation.

Antwan is not thrilled by an NPC becoming the focus of the game for players. So he asks Keys and his colleague Mouser (Utkarsh Ambudkar) to eliminate him. Yet they prove unable to do so. Even if Guy dies, he re-awakens as his new self every morning.

As Guy gets closer emotionally to Molotovgirl, he starts to assist her in finding the piece inside the game that would prove that she and Keys wrote the code. Soon she and Guy are enjoying romantic moments together.

Antwan becomes concerned that the launch of “Free City 2” is being negatively influenced by the current incarnation of the game. So he hatches a plan to eradicate “Free City.”
MolotovGirl warns Guy that his world is in danger. Guy rallies the other NPC’s to stop the destruction of their homes and lives. Will he succeed?

There is no doubt that “Free Guy” is derivative of other films. One which comes to mind when you see Guy’s ebullience and bonhomie is “The Truman Show.” Like Truman, his daily routine varies little. Just like Truman, he is eternally optimistic until he discovers that something is off.

As Guy awakens each day and then goes through the same activities, with the only variation in the bank provided by the avatars of players, “Groundhog Day” is evoked. When Guy becomes more self-aware as Bill Murray does in “Groundhog Day,” he begins to take control of his situation and becomes active rather than passive.

As Guy and the other NPC’s become self-aware, albeit in a separate reality, we see a parallel to the ethical questions posed in “I, Robot.” Do the NPC’s as conscious beings share similar rights to existence and independence as do humans?

The wearing of the sunglasses in the game that changes Guy’s perception of the world is a true homage to John Carpenter’s “They Live.” Guy may not see aliens or their messages, but he realizes that he has been missing out on what the true nature of his environment has been.

Yet despite the obvious borrowing of ideas from other pictures, I enjoyed the humor of the film, whether overt or as commentaries on our real world. The movie alternates between light-heartedness and adventure. Despite its influences, it has its own uniqueness that makes it interesting to watch.

There is a segment in the picture where we see that players have become clued in to the fact that they took NPC’s for granted before Blue-Shirt guy. They become aware that the violence inherent in “Free City” does not have to be the basis for how they play this game or any other game. Perhaps there are other ways to enjoy video games.

This bit of social criticism shifts the tone of the movie because this is occurring on a worldwide basis, as we deduce as players are interviewed. Antwan, and other video game creators, are suddenly faced with either going with the flow and adapting to this new viewpoint, or being left behind with their current product.

The metaphysical idea of servers being their own type of universe greatly appealed to me. As humans, we often assume that we would recognize new lifeforms on our level in our exploration of space. But here in Free City is a different type of intelligence, created by humans, residing in their own metaphysical realm, as objectively real to the characters in the game as ours is to us. Would we recognize these creatures as life?

The violence of “Free City” is so over-the-top that it actually lightens the film with its own self-commentary. The visual effects are very well-done.

Because there is so much more freedom to create a world in “Free City,” the real-world sequences in “Free Guy” pale by comparison. They reinforce what a monotonous day-to-day existence people lead, almost like NPC’s.

The acting is role-appropriate. No one is going to win an Oscar here. But Ryan Reynolds is his usual skillful self in his role of an Everyman. I also liked Lil Rel Howery’s performance as Guy’s best friend, Buddy. He so well captures the naivety and positivity of his NPC. On the flip side, I thought that Waititi’s portrayal of Antwan was too exaggerated in his mannerisms.

The simplicity and charm of the romance between Guy and Molotovgirl is like a breath of fresh air. Guy’s inherent sweetness and innocence is the perfect counterpart to Molotovgirl’s drive and ambition. It would be a spoiler to reveal how the romantic relationships, especially NPC ones, turn out, so you will have to see the film to find out.

Since the violence occurs on such an obviously unreal manner inside the game, I do not think that it would be objectionable to most parents of older children.

Three and a half out of five stars

A bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, decides to become the hero of his own story… one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way… before it is too late.

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Screenplay by: Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn
Story by: Matt Lieberman