In theaters since Wednesday, the film
Free Guy
tells how a non-playable video game character, played by Ryan Reynolds, comes to life to save his world.
Between cinema and video games, it's a long, complicated story of failed adaptations and belated recognition, but
Free Guy
comes out with the honors.
As he explains to
20 Minutes
, director Shawn Levy offers an interesting approach, between criticism of the industry and love letter to the community.
Cinema and video games, here is a complicated love-hate story, well documented and commented on in the documentary
War of the Screens
. If the video game was very inspired by the cinema, this one did not necessarily, nor often, returned it to him with the films
Super Mario Bros.
,
Street Fighter
,
Doom
,
Assassin's Creed
, not to mention Uwe Boll, “the world's worst director” and sworn enemy of video game adaptations. Remain some faithful adaptations (
Silent Hill
), unofficial reappropriations (
Hyper Tension 2
) and a better representation, coupled with a recognition, with the recent
Les Mondes de Ralph
by Disney and
Ready Player One
by Steven Spielberg.
Players on familiar ground
In theaters since Wednesday,
Free Guy
by Shawn Levy (
Night at the Museum
,
Real Steel
) is in the same vein, and stages a world in the world, a virtual world in the real world.
From the first images where a character is parachuted onto a map like in
Fortnite
, spectators and players are on familiar ground.
Chases, bank robberies, regular explosions, collectibles, and other Matrix bugs refer to many games today, with
Grand Theft Auto
in mind.
Free City
, the game in the film, is thus an
open world
shooter, in
which the spectator can guess the operation, the
gameplay
, but that he will never really see in action.
And for good reason, and this is the good idea of the film,
Free Guy
does not espouse the point of view of the player and his avatar like
Ready Player One
, but that of an NPC, a non-playable character.
The uprising of the NPCs
"That's the premise of the film," comments director Shawn Levy. What is the life of these characters, of these people in the background? They often serve as victims, settings, but each has an existence, a consciousness, potential. Why not put the hero of the game aside and explore the inner lives of these NPCs. Especially since they have evolved a lot in recent years, and have become, along with their artificial intelligence, an essential component of
open world
games
and their success. "
Guy, it is the name of the NPC interpreted by Ryan Reynolds, is thus a simple bank employee, who repeats the same few gestures and dialogues every day, in loop.
“It was very interesting to create a character that wasn't finished on purpose,” says production designer Ethan Tobman.
All the details of her life, her apartment, her appearance all came to a halt halfway, because it would be too long, too expensive to do it for all the NPCs in a game. Now, I think the we can, in a way, find ourselves in this feeling of being half-accomplished in our lives, as if stuck in a hamster wheel.
"
Check out these epic #FreeGuy posters inspired by iconic video game covers.
🎮💥Get tickets now to see #FreeGuy in theaters this Friday!
https://t.co/1988qhS0nJ 1/2 pic.twitter.com/PDX2gfRUuN
- Free Guy (@FreeGuyMovie) August 9, 2021
A review of some video games
Free Guy
thus turns out to be, as its title suggests, a liberation story like Hollywood is used to telling, and close to
The Truman Show
or
The Great Lego Adventure
.
But there are still things to say about video games.
If the heroes and players do not have the first role, they are nevertheless very present and often presented as bad or pathetic.
A subliminal message to pass, Mr. Levy?
“There is no debate that our game, like many real games, relies on certain aspects of human nature… the more chaotic ones I would say.
It's also part of the fun, to be able to express a part of yourself, of your humanity, that you could not express in real life.
And so much the better?
A love letter to the community
If
Free Guy
comments, even criticizes the video game, there is nonetheless a love letter to the gaming community, like the emotion that the film creates between its characters, NPCs or not, and the reality of virtual relationships.
“The pandemic and the lockdowns brought to the general public something that players already knew,” says Shawn Levy.
Namely that games and virtual offer an exciting connection with your friends, strangers, a community.
All through an avatar, another you, maybe even behaviors that you would not have in your daily life.
It's a fascinating dynamic in video game culture.
On the one hand, there is artifice, but on the other, there is authenticity.
These connections are real.
"
"The survival of entertainment is in originality"
Shawn Levy admits having been less subtle with the character of big bad studio boss played by Taika Waititi, also director of
Thor
: “I wanted to point the finger at the video game industry, and even the cinema, and this blind belief in franchises, sequels, spin-offs.
You should know that
Free Guy
is the only original blockbuster for the summer of 2021. All the others are based on existing intellectual property.
It's increasingly rare, and I think the survival of entertainment lies in originality.
"His words take on another flavor (ironic?), When we know that
Free Guy
is one of the first Fox films to be released since the takeover by Disney ... and it shows.
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