Free Guy Review: Ryan Reynolds Searches For The Meaning Of Life In Video Game Version Of The Truman Show

Free Guy (PG)

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi

Directed by Shawn Levy

Ryan Reynolds plays Guy, a non-player character in a Grand Theft Auto -esque open-world shooter called Free City. But here’s the thing: he doesn’t know that. And when he does, he suffers an existential meltdown. With help from Molotovgirl, a gun-toting avatar of a programmer (Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer), Guy embarks on a journey of self-discovery. If Ralph Breaks the Internet and The Truman Show had a baby, Shawn Levy’s meta-movie would be that bouncing bundle of joy. A hyperactive eye-candy coasting on Reynolds’ irresistible goofball charm (better used here than in the obnoxious The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard), Free Guy is many things roll into one — a meditation on free will, a gaming-culture satire, a workplace rom-com, and a Henley shirt commercial. (3.5/5 stars)

Photo: 20th Century Studios

The Medium (M18)

Starring Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Sawanee Utoomma, Sirani Yankittikan

Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun

Just when you thought the ‘found footage’ horror sub-genre has run its course, comes this riveting chiller — a collab between Banjong Pisanthanakun (Shutter) and Na Hong-Jin (The Wailing) — about a documentary team that gets more than they bargained for while chronicling a shaman’s (Sawanee Utoomma) exorcism of her demonically-possessed niece (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) in a remote village in Northern Thailand. The mock-doc starts off slow but quietly fills the atmosphere with dread, building up to a pants-wettingly terrifying third act, including a surveillance sequence shot in night-vision a la Paranormal Activity and a bonkers finale where things go south-of-heaven fast. (3.5/5 stars)