Ever think about all those hapless pedestrians and passersbys that you mow through in Grand Theft Auto: Online, Saint’s Row, or any other open world game? What inner lives they might lead, what hopes and dreams they harbor? Well wonder no more, as the first trailer for Free Guy explores what Non Player Characters (NPCs) think of the lunatic players in colourful outfits, running and gunning around their city.
I was initially sceptical about how on earth the filmmakers could convey the idea of a video game world cinematically, without having to explain away all the built-in assumptions and shortcuts games have made over the decades and still make it feel like a real game world, but it looks like they’ve hit on a genius solution.
Only players see the garish Heads Up Display that shows mission markers, player’s gamertags, and health pickups throughout the city. The NPC’s just see a “normal” city, albeit one with a lot more gunfights, car crashes, and dogfighting aircraft downtown than usual. Unless they get their hands on a pair of players sunglasses that is.
Secondly, all the mayhem of your average online game is just routine for these “little computer people”. Getting repeatedly robbed, taken hostage, or having your car stolen while someone dances gleefully nearby is all just part of your average day.
Ryan Reynolds’ Guy is as inured to the chaos around as Emmet in The Lego Movie was to the actual tedium around him (they seem to share a morning routine).
He continues industrialising the output of his snarky charm in the wake of Deadpool, with some of it even leaking into the marketing material.
Outside the fun of seeing the little “Guy” standing up for himself, it’s going to be interesting to see where the filmmakers take him. As an in-game character there’s presumably only so far he can push the system before coming up against his limitations?
At least director Shawn Levy seems to have a firm handle on the video game visuals, with some garage shots looking straight out of GTA or Saints Row although there does seem to be a homage to the “best” scene in 1998’s Meet Joe Black as well. Presumably Free Guy will be littered with further references to Fortnite, Minecraft, and all the most popular games.
Free Guy stars Ryan Reynolds, Taika Waititi, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, and is directed by Shawn Levy based on a script by Matt Lieberman & Zak Penn.
Free Guy arrives in cinemas in July 2020.
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