But the first and most prevalent gimmick is the sunglasses. In Free City, the fictitious shooter game at the center of the story, sunglasses are what signify a player: someone who can shoot up a bank, steal a car, face-punch a stranger. They are, Guy (Reynolds) says, the "heroes." Similar to the shades in the movie They Live, the players' eyewear works like in-game augmented reality specs, showing scores, power-ups, loot, etc. Sunglasses are the lens through which players are meant to experience Free City's metaverse and decode its mysteries. Guy, the audience eventually learns, is more than just an NPC in Free City--he's actually an artificially intelligent bit of code left there by the game's original developers, and he is just starting to gain sentience.

The hero of "Free Guy" is a guy named Guy (Ryan Reynolds). He has a best buddy named Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), and they live in a city named Free City. What, however, is the nature of their liberty? Guy wakes up every morning, dons an identical blue shirt, buys a cup of coffee, and goes to a bank, where he works as a teller. His customary greeting is "Don't have a good day.

This post contains spoilers for Free Guy. Free Guy, Ryan Reynolds' new, hammy vehicle in which he plays a self-aware video game character, didn't start its life as a Disney movie. The movie was already in production when the House of Mouse bought Fox, at which point the comedy became yet another member of the Disney family. Despite being a bland Fortnite or Grand Theft Auto Online rip-off, Free City is apparently massively popular around the world: Real-life streamers Ninja and Jacksepticeye make cameos as Free City players, we're told the game has won tons of awards from IGN, and even Good Morning America is covering the its viral moments. As an NPC, Guy is only supposed to be set dressing for the real users. But because of a contrived, nonsensical plot device, he gains access to some hidden code within the game that grants him artificial intelligence.