Guy works in a bank. The bank gets robbed a lot. This is because the bank is inside a Grand Theft Auto style video game and he is an NPC, a non-player character. That all changes when he encounters the woman of his dreams and breaks his programming to speak to her. He levels up to meet with her and becomes a huge internet sensation by playing the game as a 'good guy'. She however, is trying to find the proof that the game was built on her code and thus bring down the giant corporation that stole it. The corporate head, however, is willing to tear the whole thing down to keep his secret.

Welcome to TRON 2021. FREE GUY borrows the main premise of that film wholesale. A rogue programmer whose game was stolen by giant corporation (tick) who goes into the game (as an avater admittedly, but tick) and is aided by a sentient program (tick) against a corporate leader willing to do anything to stop them (tick). This time around, the story is told from the point of view of the sentient program (Tron in the original film). It's updated for the world of online gaming, it's got way more jokes and better graphics, but it's essentially the same story. Still, if you're going to steal the plot of your film about videogames, you may as well steal it from the most influential film about videogames there ever was. It's really rather ironic considering the core of the film is about stealing other people's intellectual property.

Guy is played by Ryan Reynolds as though he was Emmett from THE LEGO MOVIE, which he pretty much is. The only thing he doesn't do is break into a chorus of 'Everything is awesome'. He is an immensely likeable lead and manages to anchor the flimsiness of the whole project. He nails the jokes about misunderstanding gaming and internet terms like troll, or noob, and keeps his genuine sense of wonder and joy even as he learns the darker side to his existence. He manages to add some shading to what is a pretty one dimensional character. Jodie Comer gets more to work with in her twin role as the gamer and the avatar she plays as. Inside the game, she is pretty much the Villanelle character she played in KILLING EVE without the Russian accent and the severe mood swings. Outside of the game, she gets to be more nuanced as the desperate programmer turned hacket trying to get justice. Alongside her is STRANGER THINGS's Joe Keery, who is equally as likeable as fellow programmer Keys. In fact, the only unlikeable person in the whole movie is Taika Waititi's corporate cheat Antwon and that's by design. The choice of a black comedy stooge sidekick for Guy in the shape of Lil Rel Howery does seem a little retrograde since it's a performance that's been done so many times it's now caricature.

Despite borrowing all its ideas from other places, FREE GUY does manage to jam in some laugh out loud moments, involves a lot of smiling and is never less than as likeable as its cast. A lot of these jokes are aimed squarely at the audience of gamers, using the terminology and cameo appearances from high profile game youtubers that will be lost on the general audience, but also the stereotypical geek in his mother's basement idea a few times. There are some very famous voices on unseen characters and Channing Tatum has a very turn as an avatar who starts off really cool and descends into geekery very quickly. It has very little to say on real issues, but those that it has are aimed squarely at big video game companies for whom the money is more important than the quality of the game, rushed and buggy releases, franchises instead of originality. Many of these complaints could easily be aimed at Hollywood itself.

The main thing that FREE GUY has going for it is its very affability and lack of mean spiritedness. When the entire city is crumbling around their ears, not a single npc gets killed. Well one, but that's to make the point. The action is very bloodless and does suffer from being very similar to watching someone else play a video game. That, though, presumably won't be a problem for the core audience.

FREE GUY isn't as funny as it thinks it is, but is bright and eager to please. To criticise too harshly would be like kicking a puppy. There is a great deal to like and it never outstays its welcome.