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!