Joy H. Books

In video game language, a cut scene is a short mini-movie in the game that explains some essential backstory. Here’s the cut scene info before we begin: I don’t necessarily endorse Free Guy.

Although it’s a fun movie with meaningful, almost-allegorical themes, it also contains some harsh profanity and innuendos. This review is more a “let’s talk about the good stuff in this movie!” for those who’ve seen it. And if you haven’t seen it, think of this as a conversation starter, a sneak peek, an insider look, a what-have-you. It’s up to you, though, to decide if this movie is the right choice for you.

But enough cut scene–let’s get into a story about video games, bank heists, and humanity’s search for “Life Itself.”

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

waking up Guy

Guy works at a bank. Guy has a best friend appropriately named Buddy. Guy is considerate and kind. And Guy really likes bubblegum ice cream.

Also–the kind of important bit– Guy is a video game NPC, or a “non player character.” Basically, Guy is just one of the background people coded into the insanely popular (and insanely violent) game Free City. Unbeknownst to most of the world, however, Guy and his friends feel very much alive. Guy wakes up every morning ready to embrace the day ahead. He says hello to his goldfish (appropriately named Goldie) and takes great care to open his apartment window blinds each sunrise. Then it’s time for coffee, then a trip to the bank where his job as the bank teller is allowing real-life players to rob, pillage, and steal.

Life’s going smoothly. As commented by Plugged In, Guy’s life is basically a real life The Lego Movie: full of sunshine, expensive coffee, and smiling neighbors. Except in Free City, of course, there’s a lot more blowing up stuff, dynamite, and looting.

Everything changes for Guy, however, when someone remarkable stops him in his tracks. Guy realizes that he’s arrived a cross-roads: he can either continue his daily NPC routine, or he can chase after a life of kindness, freedom, and basically everything opposite of Free City. Strangely, Guy begins to realize the latter option has been his dream all along.

The og “Life itself”

Turns out, there was a pretty good reason for all of Guy’s existential angst and longing. As he comes to realize, Free City isn’t the video game’s original programming. A small, two-person team had written the underlying code of Free City for a program called Life Itself. This immersive, AI powered, sandbox-style game took place on a paradise island. Users could grow, build, and connect with others to enrich the space and cultivate the natural beauty of the earth. As Guy comes to realize, he was originally destined for Life Itself. He’s been unconsciously searching for signs of the original game his entire life.

Yes, the story of Guy is a bit crazy, filled with pyrotechnics, and is as unpredictable as the video game it’s about. Underneath it all, however, we watch a hero discover that he was designed for a different world, a breathtaking world that exists just underneath the surface of what he can see. At every turn, Guy gets a glimpse of this homeland and wants it even more.

As we talked about last week in the review of Moana 2, people are constantly (if unconsciously) looking for life’s big meaning. Guy’s search for Life Itself mirrors humanity’s own quest to reclaim a God-created, full-human-flourishing way of living that existed in the Garden of Eden (Comer, 2024). It’s what we were made for.Even though he was “just” an NPC, Guy knew he was coded for a world that existed just behind the sunrise. With every opening and closing of his window shades each morning, he caught a glimpse of its reflection.

Conclusion

Guy’s story, while about bravery, kindness and sacrifice, is about the longing for the home in Jesus we’re created for. Guy would probably be a big fan of C.S. Lewis’s quote, If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world (Lewis, 1952).

That’s the stuff worth living for, Guy knows. That–and bubblegum ice cream. 🎮

credits

Comer, J. M. (2017). Garden city. Thomas Nelson.
Lewis, C.S. (1952). Mere Christianity. Geoffrey Bles.
Levy, S. [Director]. (2021). Free Guy.[Film]. 20th Centuries Studios.
Heading Image: from The North Star , edited in Canva