DOWNLOAD MOVIE: Free Guy (2021)

Back in the real world, we learn that Molotov Girl is a programmer named Millie who used to collaborate with another tech genius named Keys (Joe Keery) on the creation of a truly ambitious virtual game, one that would replicate the real world rather than simply giving gamers violent missions to complete. She’s in “Free City,” looking for proof that the game’s egocentric publisher Antwan (Taika Waititi) stole her code and deformed it into this bland experience, when Guy proves to be the ideal inside man. The Trinity to his Neo, the two form an alliance to basically tear “Free City” apart from the inside, beginning with Guy’s refusal to rise through violence to higher ranks. Guy selects only the positive missions in the game, becoming an internet sensation as the world tries to figure out who this mysterious gamer is, not realizing that he is actually the most remarkable breakthrough in artificial intelligence in history. As Millie and Keys discover what has been created here, they strive to protect true progress from rash capitalism.

Director Shawn Levy does an admirable job of keeping “Free Guy” clicking and humming through several entertaining scenes in the first half, including a great montage of Guy’s “good” missions and a funny sequence in which Keys and his programming partner Mouser (Utkarsh Ambudkar) go after Guy, but he really loses the pace around the hour mark, circling back to a lot of the same plot points and themes. Rather than forging its own identity, the film struggles to shake the clear influence of previous projects such as “The Matrix,” “Ready Player One,” and even “The Truman Show,” while also dropping in actual gaming and pop culture references with increasing frequency. The film’s best moments embrace the concept’s potential, while its worst appear to be imitations of better projects.

Levy also keeps the strongest parts of “Free Guy” moving by bringing out his cast’s natural charisma. Reynolds can play this type of endearing action hero in his sleep, but Comer is a real revelation, charismatically holding together both the action-packed scenes as Molotov Girl and the more character-driven ones as Millie. She’s easily the best part of the film, though it’s also nice to see the affable Joe Keery get his best film role to date. Unfortunately, in the second half of the film, both cede a bit too much screen time to an overacting Waititi, who hits the same unfunny beats over and over again and ends up feeling more cartoonish than the actual NPCs.

Every time “Free Guy” threatens to become mind-numbingly repetitive, a decision by writers Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, or a decision by Comer or Reynolds, brings it back into focus. “Free Guy” is a bit more disposable than it should have been, but it’s still a pleasant enough diversion. Gamers frequently use virtual worlds to escape their own. It’s interesting to see the journey taken in the opposite direction.