Free Guy

 

Score:  B+

Directed by Shawn Levy

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi, Lil Rel Howery

Running time: 115 minutes

Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Free Guy dives into the gaming world that has increasingly come to dominate our own, but sends it up in an entertaining way.  Ryan Reynolds is fun as cheerful victim Blue Shirt Guy (although his ego shows through, too, to me) and beyond the usual technical wizardry is a nice positive change of tone from the usual.  Go see it for a fun time at the theater.

Guy (Reynolds) is an NPC, or Non-Playable Character, in the open-world video game Free City.  While human players' characters interact with Guy (usually violently), his daily routine consists of an ordinary, programmed "life" from bank teller to coffee addict.  But Guy deviates from his coding one day when he sees a character named Molotov Girl and seeks her out, though he's not sure why.  Molotov Girl (Comer), played by a young woman named Millie, is searching for something herself: evidence of a crime that she's sure Free City's creator has committed.  As Guy and Millie meet and learn from each other, they realize that the other is essential to their own mission; but they must act quickly, as Free City's boss (Waititi) is on the hunt.

Free Guy is one of the most fun films of the summer, unapologetically projecting a positive, sunny attitude where the genre can get bogged down in cynicism.  While its premise - the main character as a video game NPC, or essentially a manakin - is a bit nerdy, it's one that's pretty easy to catch on to for a general audience.  And that NPC is played by one of today's biggest movie stars, Ryan Reynolds, who has burnished his reputation for silliness and irreverence in Deadpool among others.  He is certainly likable here, hiding his sarcastic side for a mostly earnest, naive mode.  I must admit that, personally, the role started to grate on me, particularly as Guy becomes more aware and "heroic".  Reynolds' purpose for the role seemed to become showing off as the Cool Guy, ironically heightened by his supposedly making every effort not to seem cool (or at least seem ego free).  Your mileage may vary.

Fan or not of Reynolds, it's hard not to get sucked in to the vivid video game world created in the film.  Despite the fact that human players wreak havoc on its peaceful denizens, there's still a playfulness about it and at any rate the violence is soon backgrounded after it serves its purpose early on.  As with many movies with neat premises, Free Guy starts strong, but it also maintains momentum significantly better than others thanks to a plot that is different enough to keep it interesting while not getting lost in the technical weeds.  The non-Reynolds characters are a bit of a mixed bag, but overall are a source of strength (and help dilute the star's ego trip).  I haven't seen Jodie Comer in much (if anything) before, so I was startled and impressed by her sheer expressivity; her video game avatar Molotov Girl is completely different than her real Millie self, and it's not just the wig; MG herself changes noticeably but subtly after a major event.  Lil Rel Howery, a great comic actor, unfortunately chooses to simply imitate Kevin Hart here, but Taika Waititi is the real comic scene-stealer here as the bad guy boss.

Along with creating a fun world, Free Guy features some good commentary as well; it's not exactly subtle (nothing in this movie is) but it's also not preachy.  Primarily, it pointedly asks why we play video games, shows how we can get sucked into them, and even a bit of the rebound effect back on our real lives.  My favorite part involved Molotov Girl listing the differences between the video game world and the real world before coming to gun violence and stopping short with an "oh, wait...".  Free Guy is either indebted to or at least eerily similar to some recent films; a mashup of The Matrix, Ready Player One, and even The LEGO Movie would be a good description.  But it's good-natured enough to brush those comparisons aside, at least for a few hours of fun.

***

Free Guy pulled me to the theater with its new(ish) premise, very good Rotten Tomato score (82%), and, yes, even my confidence that Ryan Reynolds would be entertaining in the role.  Despite my feelings that Reynolds veered too far into Cool Guy posturing mode, he is admittedly fun much of the time and the movie around him is strong; Jodie Comer was a revelation for me, too.  I think I'm ready for a bit of variety at the movies now - although I'm always up for anything Marvel, like its upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - but it's been a very solid summer so far.  In fact, better in quality than most recent years.  I definitely recommend Free Guy if you want to see a good action comedy.

* By IMP Awards / 2021 Movie Poster Gallery / Free Guy Poster (#5 of 12), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68188487

The Suicide Squad

 

Score:  B

Directed by James Gunn

Starring Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Viola Davis

Running time: 132 minutes

Rated R

Long Story Short:  James Gunn moves from Coke to Pepsi - er, Marvel to DC - in helming this new film adaptation of The Suicide Squad, a team of comic book villains coerced into fighting for good.  It's certainly more stylish than its predecessor, and the first part of it promises a truly wild, fun new approach.  But it steadily moves back to the well-worn genre approaches, leaving a less satisfying taste by the end.  

When an island nation's government is overthrown, a secret advanced weapons facility is suddenly under the control of hostile forces.  To prevent its use, American agent Waller (Davis) recruits a team of the most dangerous - and bizarre - criminals to destroy the facility, in exchange for reduced sentences (and other coercion).  What this strange team of misfits finds on the island is indeed something far beyond what a usual commando mission entails - and they must rely on each of their unique, powerful talents just to survive.

The Suicide Squad, first of all, is a part-sequel, part-reboot of the 2016 film Suicide Squad (no "the"), and it modestly improves on its predecessor.  However, it still doesn't do enough to distinguish itself from either Deadpool's R-rated shock style, nor comic book convention.  As a "superhero" movie that in fact stars villains, the most important element is collecting a cast of charismatic, bad-in-a-good-way, and just plain old fun characters.  That is also a very similar objective that director James Gunn faced when he made the Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy (a MUCH better movie).  Margot Robbie reprises her Harley Quinn from the 2016 film, and is once again the true star if not the main character.  Idris Elba essentially takes over Will Smith's part, a slight enhancement in more of a fatherly role.  Others, like John Cena's Peacemaker and Daniela Melchior's Ratcatcher 2, are fun early on but gradually become more vanilla.  Still, this film gets much more creative with its convict cast than the previous Suicide Squad.

The first part of The Suicide Squad is easily the best part, seeming eager to set itself apart right off the bat. Very little time is spent - though it is spent wisely - on introducing the characters and premise before launching into the mission.  And the mission... does not go as planned to start, with a number of both famous new faces and returnees from the 2016 version finding an early demise.  A bit later, Gunn lets his star, Harley, take over.  She gets her own little subplot, falling in love with yet another sociopath; while it's a diversion, plot and tone-wise, it's well done and gets a bit more development for Quinn, the veteran character in this film (it's her third).

Unfortunately, these good things begin to fall by the wayside as the film goes on.  The characters, as mentioned, become tamer in concert with the plot becoming standard issue.  Yes, the "final boss" is suitably ridiculous, but, particularly in the final act, it all proceeds too much by the book (and drags on too long), where a film like this really should zig where you expect it to zag.  The action, after the opener, is also just too predictable and, for all it tries to ramp up the blood and gore, increasingly numbing and even dull.  Harley's escape from captivity in the middle of the movie - and right after the good, development parts - is a perfect example, as she single-handedly cuts down dozens of henchmen and emerges from it with a smile.  It was just unnecessary - to the plot, to adding action to the film (didn't need more), to showing us Harley can kick ass (we've seen her do this several other times - and more entertainingly - in previous movies).  It's a shame that Gunn and co. didn't stick to the obvious strengths that they showed early in the film.

***

While I'm not sorry to have seen The Suicide Squad, I came away fairly disappointed, particularly when seeing it get 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.  Would it make the experience better or worse to have not seen the 2016 Suicide Squad first?  Or Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, or Robbie's solo film Birds of Prey starring role for Harley?  Again, I was quite pleased with the first part of this one, promising a fresh approach, but it also increased my disappointment with the ending.  Maybe my reaction is simply my getting tired of this sort of film - I certainly have seen a lot of superhero movies in the last 10 years!  Partly true, at least, but I loved Black Widow - which shows just how well Marvel has done to both build development and attachment for its characters and world, while also providing new perspectives in its individual projects.  You can do worse than The Suicide Squad for a trip to the movie theater, but if you really want to see it, HBO Max would be just fine, too.

* By IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67214291

The Green Knight

Score:  B+

Directed by David Lowery

Starring Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris

Running time: 130 minutes

Rated R

Long Story Short:  The Green Knight is the latest film from rising star filmmaker David Lowery, a point as relevant as its being based on a tale of King Arthur's court.  It is full of great images and sounds, conveying a world and a journey that are weird and even illusory.  Dev Patel plays the decidedly non-heroic main character well in this film emphasizing sensation over plot.  Check out this mid-summer Oscar contender.

In Arthur's court, the King's nephew, Gawain (Patel), longs to become a Knight but he is stuck in youthful frivolity.  When a strange creature comes to the court with a challenge, however, Gawain accepts it.  To his and others' surprise, he seems to be victorious, but the "game" is not yet over: in a year, Gawain must face the final part of the challenge.  As Gawain sets off after a too-quick year, he is beset by dangers on his journey, both common and magical.  In order to become a Knight - and simply survive - Gawain must find the necessary courage and honor within himself.

The Green Knight is a unique fantasy film, its style, sound and images making the supernatural even stranger than usual, resulting overall in a fascinating experience.  Made by a top, up-and-coming director in David Lowery, this really does not feel like a typical fantasy film from the very start; it feels grounded in reality, even if many of the fantasy elements are treated as ordinary by the characters.  In fact, it can be difficult to tell what is real and what is dream or illusion, which can be both frustrating and entrancing.  Different characters are played by the same actor; a desperate victim turns out to be a ghost; an anthropomorphic fox comes along for the journey without a comment; the film keeps you off balance much of the time, for better or worse.  The main plot - Gawain's challenge - is parallel to this; logical in that he wants to become a Knight, but the specifics of it are baffling, even unintentionally amusing.

To convey this strange tale, Lowery created a rich, engrossing world of sounds and images.  The score, especially in the first half of the film (at least, that's when I most noticed it), is excellent and, again, goes against what you typically think of in a fantasy.  Yes, there are bits here and there reminiscent of the genre but the lead element is a choir that does as much as anything in the film to set the tone: from creepy to glorious to ominous.  There is plenty of CGI but it mostly blends in to the background, save for a bizarre (and kind of boring) horde of placid giants.  Instead, the visual intrigue comes from phenomenal editing and cinematography.  Things as simple as watching Gawain slowly ride out of Camelot, to a mindbending 360 rotation of both time and camera, make this film an enjoyable experience separate from character, story, and so on.  And Lowery certainly lingers on these images and sounds - mostly to the good, but it results in a slightly overlong film (at least cut out those giants!).

For a final way in which The Green Knight is not your typical fantasy, Gawain is far from a typical hero, whether in battle - there are basically no fighting scenes - or in his disposition.  Dev Patel, far removed from Slumdog Millionaire, is great as the reluctant, often unworthy and humiliated yet still sympathetic Gawain.  It's not an overtly outstanding performance, but he is almost always on screen, mostly has to communicate without dialogue, and allows those surrounding images and sounds to dominate when needed.  Alicia Vikander is excellent as usual, too, in playing two (very) different characters, and supporting actors from Sean Harris's King Arthur to Joel Edgerton's helpful nobleman add nice flavor.  The climactic scene is a visually-arresting, wordless surge ahead in time, but rather than focus on the action, it makes you think about the morals of the story.  It's an ambiguous but fitting ending.

***

I found out about The Green Knight only recently and, seeing its high Rotten Tomatoes score, gave it a chance.  If anything, I'm probably rating it too low; my opinion of it is growing the more I think about it.  I should emphasize - despite this being a tale of King Arthur's court, this is not your typical fantasy.  The other film from Lowery I've seen is The Old Man & the Gun, starring Robert Redford, which is great but much different than this.  Think of it more as a talented filmmaker's (and the talented cast's) most recent project that happens to have visuals and themes that are out of the ordinary.  It's likely to be an Oscar contender, including possibly for Best Picture and Director.  In other words, not your typical summer blockbuster - but just as entertaining, if in different ways.

* By Studio and or Graphic Artist - Can be obtained from film's distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63091746