Free Guy: What Did You Think?

Today sees the release of 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds as a non-playable video game character in an open-world shooter called “Free City” who becomes self-aware. He also falls in love with a player (Jodie Comer) who has issues with the diabolical game designer (Taika Waititi) and his lackey (Joe Keery).

Directed by Shawn Levy, this is a fun-filled family adventure that plays out a little bit like Tron meets Fortnite, and I was all-in from the start. To me, it ranks as one of Levy’s best-ever films and an ideal vehicle for Ryan Reynolds, who’s perfectly cast as a video game character.

The film, which is getting an exclusive theatrical window, opens today, and so far, the reviews have been fairly positive. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 81%, which lines up with my 8/10 review. In the end, though, as I say every time I post one of these, what critics think doesn’t matter. It’s YOU, the audience, that ultimately votes, with your wallets, whether a movie is a hit or not.

So let us know in the talkbacks what you thought of Free Guy. Was it a fun late-summer surprise and one of Ryan Reynolds’ better movies? Would you want to see a sequel, or is one trip to “Free City” more than enough. Let us know!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24RvO25FOfw

About the Author

Chris Bumbray began his career with JoBlo as the resident film critic (and James Bond expert) way back in 2007, and he has stuck around ever since, being named editor-in-chief in 2021. A voting member of the CCA and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, you can also catch Chris discussing pop culture regularly on CTV News Channel.