Free Guy
2021
**½
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Joe Keery, Taika Waititi, Britne Oldford, Camille Kostek
Guy is a lonely bank clerk who lives a mundane and repetitive life in Free City. Just when his luck is about to turn, he learns that he is not even a real person but a non-player character in a video game. This fantasy comedy is energetic, entertaining, and visually vibrant. What it is not is original or technologically believable. The script is a concoction of past movies. Guy's story starts as mix between Groundhog Day and The Truman Show. When the movie delves deeper into the gaming world, I was regularly reminded of Ready Player One, Wreck-It Ralph, and its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet.
