Gamer’s delight

Halfway through the new film Free Guy someone explains that people don’t want anything original, they just want more sequels and reboots. The joke of course is that Free Guy is one of the few summer blockbusters not based on some preexisting franchise. But the joke goes deeper—Free Guy might not be a sequel or reboot, but every scene contains bits stolen from familiar movies. I had my doubts about this remix approach to storytelling, but director Shawn Levy has created a surprisingly rewarding summer hit.

Ryan Reynolds plays Guy—his full name is “Blue Shirt Guy”—a non-player character (NPC in gamer speak) who lives inside a video game called Free City. Guy isn’t real: He’s an algorithm whose only purpose is to let the game’s players mistreat him. Free City is a massively multiplayer online game (more gamer speak) in which players level up (gain powers and abilities) by performing missions. The game is violent—a cross between Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto—and one of its missions is “Bank Heist.” Poor Guy is the bank teller whom the players rob and abuse multiple times a day.

Guy doesn’t mind. He’s just an algorithm after all, and he was programmed to enjoy his terrible existence. But he becomes dissatisfied when he meets a player named Molotov Girl (an endearing performance by Jodie Comer). Molotov Girl tells him his world is just a game and warns him that the game’s owner (an over-the-top Taika Waititi) is about to pull the plug on Free City. Guy decides if he’s going to save his world he’ll need to level up, but he’s going to do it by being a good guy rather than by hurting people.

Free Guy should feel too derivative. Reynolds’ performance, though entirely likable, comes across like an impersonation of Will Ferrell’s Buddy the Elf. Moreover, Guy never deviates from his daily routine while humming a catchy pop tune, reminding us of The Lego Movie. We can’t help but compare what we’re seeing to Ready Player One and The Matrix, movies exploring the connection between the real and the virtual. There’s a little bit of The Truman Show thrown in when Guy starts to live his own life but realizes he can’t escape the city. We hear echoes of Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow as Guy levels up by working through the same scenarios until he’s perfected them. And since Disney now owns 20^th Century Studios, producers take the opportunity to highlight other major franchises in the Disneyverse.

But in a movie about an NPC that comes to life, all these allusions somehow feel appropriate. Video gamers and connoisseurs of nerd culture like nothing better than hunting games or films for “Easter eggs,” or surprise references to other media properties. The movie also includes cameos of superstar gamers (Ninja, Pokimane) whom the casual moviegoer won’t recognize, but many teens and 20-somethings will. The movie successfully captures the vibe of the gaming culture, but that culture can be a little crass, which earns Free Guy its PG-13 rating for foul language and crude references.

The film draws freely on what’s come before, but I was surprised by the new direction it takes those concepts. While watching, I found myself asking, “Will they be able to bring this scenario to a satisfying conclusion?” The answer is yes: The filmmakers manage an ending that feels fresh and natural.

Most surprisingly, the narrative opens itself to a theological reading. Without spoiling anything: Guy lives in a world that’s fallen—it wasn’t supposed to be so violent. He was programmed with a longing in his heart that he doesn’t understand, a longing that he eventually realizes can only be satisfied by his creator. The movie promises that love and kindness and sacrifice can change the world. I don’t know whether the Christian parallels were intentional, but finding these unexpected Easter eggs made Free Guy worth the watch.