Ryan Reynolds is Guy, a cheerful bank teller NPC in a massive multiplayer online GTA clone, who falls in love with a player's avatar (Jodie Comer) he sees on the street, which prompts him to take control of his life beyond the role he's intended to film, but the jackass "creator" of the game (played Taika Waititi). As it turns out, Guy's continued evolution and development is the key to a legal struggle between Waititi and Comer, with Comer's former development partner Keys (Joe Keery) caught in the middle, along with all the other NPCs in the game.
I laughed a lot at this. Even though I don't play MMORPGs, I did understand a lot of the in-jokes about it. The random behavior the player's exhibit which the NPCs shrug off as normal. The guy purposefully flying his jetpack into the barrier that marks the edge of the world so he can crash spectacularly. The characters jumping awkwardly as they run down the street. The bizarre smack talk. The insane collections of weapons and vehicles. Channing Tatum playing the player avatar of some guy who named him "Revenjamin Button".
Most of the time, Guy's dialogue would come off as sarcastic from Ryan Reynolds. Because sarcastic is seemingly Reynolds' default setting. But he's able to impart enough wide-eyed optimism and enthusiasm to make it believable Guy really has no idea what Millie is talking about and takes what she says literally. When he sees he's level 1, his, 'Oh. Is one the best or the worst?' is perfect. Or his confusion about taking off his "skin". And while I doubt a player having great success in one of these games by being helpful and not lethally violent would gain such popularity, I like that Guy maintains that approach. Even when he's in danger of being erased permanently, he still opts for a kinder solution.
I think I liked the security guard Buddy (Lil Rel Howery) the best. He's Guy's best friend, and while he can never bring himself to put on the sunglasses and become a "player" like Guy, that doesn't mean he remains a static NPC, or that he's lesser than Guy. His evolution isn't as dramatic, but he steps outside the bounds of his role as well. He's still Guy's friend, and he wants to help, but in his own way. Which, if you're going to play with the notion of artificial intelligences developing, they shouldn't all develop or grow in the same way, right?
2 comments:
Yeah, there was nothing spectacular about this one, but it all came together very well and it had a lot of charm. It's probably the best film in a very niche genre.
That's an excellent summary.
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