Seemingly drawing inspiration from a variety of movies such as The Matrix, The LEGO Movie and maybe a bit of The Truman Show and Ready Player One, as well as expansive game platforms like Grand Theft Auto and Fortnite, Free Guy is more than the sum of its parts. The video-game world on display is simply fun to watch!

The movie focuses on Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a hapless bank teller who never questions the constant violence in his life, including multiple bank robberies every day and frequent traumatic demises, and he maintains a positive outlook despite a nagging feeling that something in his life is missing.

Turns out he's right. Guy is an NPC, a background character in an immersive video game called "Free City" where players do bad things for experience points. But he's a little bit more -- hidden in his code is a bit of stolen software that sparks a true artificial intelligence beneath his placid demeanor. Gradually, he becomes aware of what's going on around him, and he even dares to fall in love with the avatar of Molotovgirl (Jodie Comer), a player who is searching for the stolen code. In real life, Molotovgirl is Millie, and she and her former coding partner Keys (Joe Keery) wrote the foundation for the game that was stolen by unscrupulous game czar Antwan (Taika Waititi), who made a fortune by denying them their rightful credit and subsequent royalties. Millie hopes to find the code and prove Antwan's perfidy, but Mouser (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who is both Keys' best friend and Antwan's faithful minion, stands in their way.

Guy, meanwhile, wants to earn Molotovgirl's love by gaining experience and ranking up, which he accomplishes by stealing a player's sunglasses and accessing player controls. But he doesn't want to be a BAD Guy, so he fights the tide by doing good. In the process, he becomes an internet sensation.

He's also a source of confusion to the other NPCs, such as the barista (Britne Oldford), who only knows how to make one style of coffee; Officer Johnny (Mike Devine), the friendly cop; the eternal hostage (Mark Lainer), who is unable to lower his hands; and Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), the bank security guard who's also Guy's best friend. Buddy provides a couple of truly heartwarming moments, with a lesson in taking joy from the moment. Take note, too, of Keith (Matty Cardarople), the 22-year-old gamer living in his mother's house, and Revenjamin Buttons (Channing Tatum), his much cooler in-game avatar.

All in all, Free Guy is a big-hearted movie with a lot of flashy action, CGI out the wazoo, a romance that doesn't go in the direction you'd expect, and a feel-good ending that feels just a bit like a copout but still makes you smile in the end.