Amazingly adorable: The summer blockbuster “Free Guy” is the Truman show of the gaming world.
Hardly any new medium can compete with the power of computer games. Nevertheless, it is a phenomenon that is little talked about outside of the user community. Sure, there are voices of the often worried parents. And there is that of the protection of minors, to which the former appear like toothless tigers in the face of a powerful industry. Among the most radical opponents of the medium, one can make oneself suspicious just by knowing the titles of the games that one’s own child is playing – at least that is how I experienced it once at a parenting conference: “Ah, then it will surely have it from you …. “
The cinema, too, has mostly struggled with films about the digital competition. Filmed computer games are numerous, but a contradiction in terms: why watch the action of a video game if you can’t play it? Interesting stories can only be found at the interfaces between game and reality – for example in Disney’s pioneering work “Tron” or “Summer Wars”, the anime by Japanese Mamoru Hosoda.
This is also where the Canadian filmmaker Shawn Levy set his Hollywood film “Free Guy” about the life of one of those marginal characters that run through the scenes in the background in urban games like “Grand Theft Auto 5” – as long as no one rivets them. The technical term for this is NPC, meaning “non-playable character” (but never reveal this special knowledge at a parents’ evening).
At first glance, the story is reminiscent of Peter Weir’s tragic comedy “The Truman Show”. Like Jim Carrey’s involuntary reality show star, the lovable “Guy” (Ryan Reynolds) has long lived in a state of blissful ignorance. And here as there, the education about one’s own existence is accompanied by a political awakening. Yes, even at a second and third glance, “Free Guy” is reminiscent of the “Truman Show”, right up to the literal horizon that has to be overcome at the end of the game backdrop.
This idea sounds as simple as the well-meaning nature of the protagonist – and yet it led to an endearing, entertaining and even surprising result. The world of gaming and reality come together when the security guard in a bank setting, called “Guy” for lack of a personal first name, falls in love with the avatar of a gamer. This character is called Molotov Girl, she shines with an icy cool demeanor and an impressive score – which in this game genre cannot exactly be considered proof of innocence.
Behind the master player hides the game developer Millie in real life. Together with a helplessly obsessed colleague named Walter (a marginal figure that can be neglected) she wrote the original code of the game. Originally set in a peaceful unicorn idyll, her work was shipped to a lawless big city hell by an unscrupulous game producer. Now she’s looking for evidence of the theft in the game. In fact, however, she has created more than she could ever hope: Guy is nothing less than the first artificial intelligence to emerge from a computer game.
From now on we will experience a modern Pygmalion version with reversed gender roles in addition to the “Truman Show”: Millie is visibly in love with her own creation. It is of a lovable narcissism, which is increased again by the fact that your own avatar is an expression of your creativity. Unfortunately, mixed marriages between the real and the virtual world in the cinema are doomed to failure – remember “Her”, the sad love story that Spike Jonze made on the subject.
But of course this is only marginally a love story. With the pending expiry of the online game, which is to be replaced by a sequel, not only the character of the Guy is threatened with merciless extinction. Evidence of intellectual theft would then also no longer be found for Millie.
Shawn Levy stages a furious crescendo in a virtuoso parallel montage between the corporate headquarters and an increasingly unleashed gaming inner world. One would not have expected such a virtuoso piece from the director of the rather sedate “Night at the Museum” films, which is spiced up by countless allusions to pop culture and gaming history. But despite all the virtuality, the human actors are never pushed into the background. Both do their thing admirably.
Ryan Reynolds, who is best known for his comic book adaptations like “Green Lantern” or “Deadpool”, can still surprise. The consistency with which he maintains the reduced range of expression of a virtual character, but at the same time enriches it with human kindness, is fascinating. In US film history, the role type of the underrated Mr. Jedermann has a long history that goes back to Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey to the silent film star Harold Lloyd.
All the more ambivalent Jodie Comer’s double role: the sovereign female figure of her avatar contrasts with the realistic figure of a developer who is disadvantaged in the male-dominated gaming industry. Comer gives both characters exceptional presence; one will see a lot of this talent in the future. Ultimately, the plea for an independent, alternative gaming culture and against the market power of large corporations is extremely charming. But wait, isn’t there a Disney logo in the opening credits?
Free Guy. USA 2021.
Directed by Shawn Levy. 115 Min.
