Free Guy, now in theaters, is bringing viewers a splashy summer blockbuster experience bursting with rollicking action and nerdy video game references. The Ryan Reynolds vehicle dives into the life of a cheerfully oblivious NPC living in a Grand Theft Auto-like game called Free City when his worldview is blown open as he slowly breaks out of his limited existence. With the help of a mysterious woman whose connections to him run deeper than either of them know, he’s forced to level up and save his world from a narcissistic head developer who plans to destroy it for his own gain.
There’s already a sequel in the works for Free Guy, so audiences shouldn’t have long to wait before they can return to the world of Free City. In the meantime, however, those who want more pop culture references, heartfelt storytelling, and eye-popping CGI explosions can try filling the void with these ten movies.
Ready Player One
Free Guy is only the latest in a growing tradition of movies preoccupied with video games, and this list would be incomplete without one of the most-discussed recent entries in this arena, Ready Player One (2018). Based on Ernest Cline’s 2011 best-selling novel, it depicts an apocalyptic future where people escape their grim existences by immersing themselves in a massive virtual reality game. Like Free City, the VR world of OASIS is chock full of nerdy references, and within it, players can inhabit the fictional worlds and narratives from their favorite pop culture properties.
Your Friends Close
This 2013 Kickstarter-funded film, available to watch in full on YouTube, hinges on the troubled marriage of two game developers who are on the verge of finding success with the Turing Test-passing social game they’ve created together. They’re set to leave for Paris to work on the game, but things turn dangerously sour the night of their farewell party. The wickedly observant AI at the heart of the game, voice acted with snarky malevolence by Yahtzee Croshaw (Zero Punctuation), sows discord and reveals explosive secrets, hurling the couple’s friend group into chaos. For a low-budget indie flick made almost a decade ago, Your Friends Close has a lot to offer, and the cast is fully committed. It may not be a top-dollar blockbuster, but at the very least it’s worth a watch for the interesting ideas it plays around with.
The Truman Show
Guy’s awakening to the artificial nature of his world is seemingly inspired by the protagonist’s discovery that his entire existence is a reality TV show in this ’90s Jim Carrey classic. Both Truman and Guy believe they live picture-perfect existences, until small clues and strange behavior from those around them make it clear that all is not as it seems. Though The Truman Show is also considered a comedy, its tone and themes are decidedly darker and more serious than those of Free Guy; it’s more like a twisted modern fable, and a highly prescient one at that.
Tron: Legacy
In the 2010 sequel to the ’80s classic Tron, Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) must enter The Grid, a virtual reality invented by his father, to save it from an out-of-control AI that wants to invade the real world. He traverses digital highways, rides light cycles, and battles formidable foes in his quest to rescue his father and free his creation from tyrannical control. Tron: Legacy‘s polished cyberpunk visuals still look snazzy a decade later, and the action sequences are flashy and intricate. Olivia Wilde’s uber-cool lead character Quorra has some echoes in Jodie Comer’s Free Guy character Millie, who kicks bad guy butt with ease and never looks at explosions. Like Guy, Quorra is a creation of the virtual world she lives in; as a result, she too is innocent and naïve, though it’s initially hidden behind her coolly capable exterior.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
The humor in this 2021 Sony Animation smash hit is every bit as silly, fast-paced, and referential as that of Free Guy. The sentient AI in this story is not the hero but the villain, a sort of vengeful killer Alexa who spearheads a global robot uprising that only the hapless, adorably weird Mitchell family can stop. Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson), like Guy, is a quirky protagonist who frequently breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience. As befitting a movie released this year, it’s solidly up-to-the-moment in its understanding of current Internet culture and memes. With a heartwarming story of family reconciliation to ground its rainbow sticker-studded hijinks, The Mitchells vs. The Machines is a truly delightful piece of family entertainment that is sure to be an enduring classic.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
The original Jumanji, a ’90s classic starring Robin Williams, sucked its characters into the treacherous world hidden inside a magical board game. The 2018 sequel updates the action, having the game latch onto new victims by transforming itself into the more culturally relevant form of a video game. Four teenagers are pulled into the game’s world and given idealized, athletic avatar bodies, complete with a stock of three lives, the loss of which will result in real-world death. The rules are simple: work together, survive, and beat the game to escape. The leads are clearly having an amazing time, and there’s a lot of enjoyment in watching how the four stars led by Dwayne Johnson, each an A-lister in their own right, play with the humor of body-swapped awkward teens in action hero bodies.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Gamers shouldn’t miss this cult favorite 2009 love letter to all things nerd. Adapted from the critically acclaimed Bryan Lee O’Malley graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has gaming woven deep into its ratty punk T-shirt fabric. It differs from the literal vision of Free Guy in its abstract, fast-and-loose approach, which is more like a sort of heightened magical realism. Game tropes appear in mundane moments, such as when the movie takes the opportunity to throw in some visual gags and Fairy Fountain music from Zelda as Scott (Michael Cera) uses the bathroom. Characters’ physical and emotional states are also communicated through gaming-specific visual cues like health bars and K.O. announcements. Scott’s quest to defeat the seven evil exes of his love interest Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is every bit as thrilling as Guy’s adventure, and there’s a catchy indie soundtrack playing over it all, to boot.
The Matrix
The Matrix is a must-watch action sci-fi classic and another tale whose protagonist wakes up to the false reality of his world. The Wachowskis’ enduring masterpiece is a cultural phenomenon that really needs no introduction, but for those who need a quick recap: main character Neo (Keanu Reeves) finds his ordinary life upended when he discovers that the entire world is a simulation created by robots who are farming human bodies for energy. As with much modern action blockbuster filmmaking, the slow-motion explosions and fight scenes in Free Guy take obvious inspiration from The Matrix‘s iconic sequences. And, of course, the spot-on parallels between the plotlines of both movies barely need elucidation. If there’s anyone left that hasn’t taken the red pill yet, now is the perfect time to experience Neo’s revelatory journey for the first time.
Wreck-It Ralph
Another Disney-produced film that explores the hidden lives of video game characters, Wreck-It Ralph envisions an entire secret society of NPCs with full existences and cultures. Unlike the more adult tone of Free Guy, Wreck-It Ralph is definitely for kids and the young at heart, with its colorful character designs and silly humor. There’s plenty for adults to enjoy as well, from the film’s obvious, wholesome love of retro arcade games to its winking moments of satire. The freedom offered by its medium and setting means Wreck-it Ralph also enthusiastically delivers in the explosions and spectacle department. Don’t write it off as throwaway Disney fare — its cheeky humor and bright visuals are tempered by a solid emotional heart and believably flawed characters one can’t help but root for. The voice acting performances of leads John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman alone are enough to make this one worth checking out.
Pacific Rim
There isn’t a direct connection to gaming in this 2013 Guillermo del Toro film, but the whole thing pulses with neon-bright sci-fi/action energy. In a future where monstrous Kaiju rise from the ocean depths to terrorize humanity, duos of psychologically compatible pilots work together, controlling giant mechs to combat the threat. The leading pair, played with conviction by Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, are thrown together by tragic circumstances, quickly forging a deep mental bond in order to face apocalyptic danger and impossible odds. Pacific Rim is a glorious tribute to mecha anime and Kaiju films, a movie that’s not afraid to go big in every sense of the phrase, and the mind-melding concept of “the drift” provides unique opportunities for emotional, character-based storytelling.
To see Guy’s adventures in Free City, Free Guy is in theaters now.
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