Director – Shawn Levy; Credited Screenwriter – Matt Lieberman & Zak Penn
An intriguing twist on the awakening AI genre, so well codified by Her in 2013, with the AI in question being a non-playable character in a mass multiplayer online video game. Despite charming and earnest performances from Reynolds and Comer, the film rings hollow. For the gaming audience, the cries of “that’s not how games work!” will be abundant, but it’s so crammed with gaming references and jargon that it must, to an extent, shut out anyone else. There’s also a third act romantic twist that ultimately just feels creepy. Free Guy is certainly funny and engaging enough but one can’t help wondering if anyone in the production knew who this film was for.
Even Briefer, Please: On the lower end of a Sure, watchable and enjoyable enough, but never as interesting as the premise promises.
Briefly, Please 