“Free Guy” Review
A Students Review on the Cinematography and Acting
Actor Ryan Reynolds starred in new movie, “Free Guy”
December 6, 2021
“Free Guy” follows a bank teller, Guy (Ryan Reynolds), who discovers he is a background character in a video game. Feeling lovelorn and stuck in a loop, he decides to rewrite his story. Guy is determined to save the day, and maybe find a little romance along the way.
The exposition of “Free Guy” starts inside a video game. Guy seems to live the same day every day. The feeling can’t help but be compared to our own lives. Sophomore Addy Schmiz can empathize.
“Most school days I just go through the motions rather than trying to make it a great day,” Schmitz said.
“Free Guy” had a whole new different kind of cinematic experience than anticipated. Instead of being completely animated or live-action, it was a mix of both. Sophomore Alyssa Peck explains her thoughts on the cinematography of the movie.
“I think it was kind of cool how there was a video game side and then a real life side,” Peck said.
Ryan Reynolds’ involvement made the movie shine. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the screenwriter of “Free Guy”, Matt Liberman, explained Reynolds shaped the movie by helping to improve the script.
“Free Guy” seems like it is not meant to be taken seriously, but as you watch you realize it is more than a kid’s movie. Reynolds slipped in some unique jokes that formed Guy into more than just a background character. He oozes a complex, comedic and often stupid personality. Reynolds’ lines throughout the movie represent the character’s humor, but also the writer’s wit. Whether it be in his delivery or just the line itself, Guy’s jokes always warranted a laugh out of the audience.
Reynolds had many great lines, but one of the best demonstrated Guy’s naivete in response to a character dying.
“He’s just resting,” Guy said.
Schmitz commented on how the movie incorporated Reynold’s character in his role.
“Ryan Reynolds brought a unique side of the movie because he is funny and can be dumb sometimes too!” Schmitz said.
What makes the movie quite unique is how the video game is much more complex than you would expect. Guy was programmed to be seen as a person who has feelings, expresses them and grows outside his originally-assigned purpose.
Rather than boring me, I felt connected to Guy.
“[I thought of] Guy as a real being with real emotions,” Schmitz said.
The movie also highlighted two coders, Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer) and Keys (Joe Keery), showing how they lived their lives. They made the world of coding feel less of a video-gaming type of job, but more interactive and creative than I thought.
The climax was over, and I was not quite sold on the film due to a lack of a wonderful ending. But the ending of the movie was not a bit expected.
“The…story was kind of a surprise at the end but I think it was a great touch to the movie,” said Peck.
“Free Guy” led me to believe that even if we feel that we are a background character in our own lives, it doesn’t have to stay that way. We have the opportunity to change our story if we just have the motivation. Though I was a bit reluctant to watch “Free Guy”, my expectations were blown out of the water after watching.
