The man who is simply called Guy, ie “Type”, and has to get by without a surname, is caught in the same thing. Every morning he happily jumps out of bed, greets his goldfish with “Hello Goldie!”, Buys a supercreamy cappuccino with two pieces of sugar and strolls with it to the Free Bank, where he does his work behind a counter and stamps forms. He calls out the same greeting to the customer afterwards: “Don’t have a good day – it’s a great day!”
Constant grin on the face
Ryan Reynolds plays this lucky guy with a permanent grin. Even the bank robbers who storm the building at the same time every day and shoot machine guns into the air cannot take away his confidence. Guy has nothing to fear, he considers himself invulnerable, almost immortal. His city, Free City, is a “paradise”, he says from the off. However, paradise can turn into hell. Guy suspects that he is missing something: real vitality, a great adventure.
The plot of Shawn Levy’s action comedy “Free Guy” is reminiscent of the “Truman Show”. There, too, the protagonist lives in an endless loop until he begins to rebel. One day, when a spotlight falls from the sky and hits the street next to him, it dawns on Truman Burbank that he probably lives in a gigantic television studio. There is also such a moment of realization in “Free Guy”. Because he’s had enough of throwing himself on the ground every time he is robbed, Guy attacks a bank robber and rips his sunglasses off his head. Everything immediately looks more exciting through the glasses. Icons in the form of coins, cherries or stars are flashing everywhere, previously invisible secret passages are opening up.
Rebellion of an extra
Free City turns out to be a video game that looks like a cross between “Fortnite” and “Grand Theft Auto” with its parachute jumps, car chases, bazooka, sword and karate fights. As a non-player character (NPC), Guy belongs to the digital rank and file. Unlike the sunglasses heroes, who are controlled as avatars by real people, his programming only allows him to play the role of extras. Until he protests, steals one of the glasses and changes class.
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Shawn Levy directed the two “Night at the Museum” films, in which a dinosaur skeleton, toy soldiers and a presidential statue come to life after midnight at the New York Natural History Museum. Only trace elements are left of the magic of these cinema fairy tales in “Free Guy”. The film picks up pace when the plot begins to switch between the virtual world of Free City and the studio in which the game was programmed. But real tension does not develop, even if the company boss (Taika Waititi) wants to shut down the game – which would cost Guy his existence.
Unlike the “Truman Show”, “Free Guy” is not about cultural or media criticism. The endless battles in which Guy is embroiled sometimes seem like a filmed first-person shooter game, only that they take place in settings that are reminiscent of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude or the villain’s palace from a “James Bond” film.
[“Free Guy”, ab Donnerstag, 12. August, in 17 Berliner Kinos]
Can artificial intelligence fall in love? Guy does it, he loses his heart to the Molotov Girl, a manga amazon who is controlled by the programmer Millie (“Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer in a double role). Perhaps the best gag is that Guy’s best friend, a security guard (Lil Rel Howery), is called Buddy. This turns the comedy, which is generally not very funny, into a buddy movie.
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