https://www.cybersport.ru/other/articles/gta-dlya-vlyublennykh-obzor-filma-glavnyi-geroi-s-raianom-reinoldsom

At the level of the plot, the “protagonist” looks simple: a kind of rom-com, superimposed on a gamer theme with the charming Ryan Reynolds in the title role. References to GTA Online were read from the first trailers: the same madness on the streets, only through the eyes of non-player characters, constantly receiving punches from gamers.

And all this is really in place in the film. There are more than enough jokes about the difficult life of NPCs, and the strange behavior of real users now and then gets into the frame. Here someone starts to teleport because of a high ping, here the player kills a bystander and “teebags” the corpse, and a couple of minutes later a guy gets into the frame, diligently beating his forehead against the wall in search of bugs. It is all the more surprising to understand that all this is just a facade, while the story itself touches on ideas that are much deeper.

Quite quickly, the topic of finding oneself in the world and the willingness to change the established way of life for the sake of a dream comes to the fore. The first NPC to take such a radical step is the Guy, but he is far from the last. There are interesting details scattered about the film here and there, demonstrating the progress of the game’s artificial intelligence (for example, a barista girl learns to make cappuccino, despite the fact that this is not included in the original code) – it seems to be a trifle, but a complete picture is assembled from the details.

Next comes the motive of creativity: one of the central conflicts of the film is built around the stolen code of the game, on the basis of which Free City was created – a game in which the Guy and other characters live. Moreover, if Free City itself is an homage to GTA (remember at least Liberty City), then its first prototype clearly refers to Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon: the original developers wanted to create a game in which you did not need to kill everyone, but watch a peaceful life. A kind of confrontation between a large company and a small indie studio: the former are chasing a long ruble, and the latter is much more important than self-expression.

Interestingly enough, in addition to the greed of corporations, the plot is inadvertently played out because of the publishers’ love for sequels and raw releases – in general, it hurts every gamer who has long been tired of these problems on the nerve. It feels great that the authors are either deeply in the subject themselves, or have really studied the issue. It is extremely difficult to delve into the “game” aspects of the film here: even the increased interest in peaceful games really takes place in reality.

But it doesn’t end there, and the film goes even further. At some point, the Guy understands his nature, and a new – existential – layer appears in the picture, with which completely different questions arise. Can one be considered alive who does not have a soul? How to live with the fact that you are not really there? And what exactly defines the word “alive”? At such moments, the picture opens up a truly unexpected potential, which you cannot expect from a comedy “about video games”.

And then the film is completely released on the topic of creationism, which is logical for the world created by programmers. The guy asks questions about the nature of God, the reasons for his environment and the sources of suffering. And he logically strikes against a predetermined order in which he is forced to be only a bargaining pawn in someone else’s game, and gradually becomes a man free from the shackles. In this regard, the original title “Free Guy” (“Free Guy”) suits the film much better than the localized “Protagonist”.

Do not forget about the issues of humanism, which are generously scattered in the film and are successfully superimposed on transhumanism, the references to which are also presented in full. If artificial intelligence is aware of itself as a person, can it continue to be perceived as a program for entertainment, or is it worthy of more? Is it okay to kill NPCs who feel pain and differ from humans only by the absence of a body? Anyway, what is the global difference between our species? The questions raised in “The main character” look many times more convincing than those of David Cage in Detroit: Become Human, which appeals to slavery and brings robots closer to people – the film at least clearly delineates the types and shows the independence of AI. And after all, topics like self-awareness are also spoken in the background, sexism and toxicity are touched upon …

The emergence of a fundamentally unpretentious comedy in the plane of philosophical reasoning seems to be an extremely interesting solution. But even here the authors do not forget that their picture is, first of all, entertainment and only then a platform for expressing inner feelings. All topics are presented completely without strain: serious moments are immediately diluted with really witty jokes, and the existential torment of the Guy is resolved by a touching, but not tearful dialogue with a Buddy – another NPC with the most original name.

In addition to humor, homages and references come into play. The very idea of ​​glasses that allow you to see the world through the eyes of the player, as if borrowed from the cult “Aliens Among Us” by John Carpenter: there the hero of Roddy Piper not only had no name, but in the credits was recorded as Nada (“Nothing”), and the truth I learned about the world with the help of glasses. More than once during the film, not so frontal references to “The Terminator” or “Meet Joe Black” will surface, and you have to try very hard not to learn jokes about “The Avengers” and “Star Wars”. And there are plenty of game references: from the aforementioned GTA and Animal Crossing to the same Fortnite and Tomb Raider. And here the dances from the game look much more appropriate than in “Sonic in the Movie”.

In fact, the “protagonist” is not what it seems at first glance. In a light comedic form, he manages to raise many difficult questions at once, without slipping into drama and remaining excellent entertainment. Deep thoughts here easily get along with explosions and well-staged fights and gunfights – which is just one scene with shooting in Macedonian from a motorcycle. As a result, a film from which you do not expect absolutely anything is capable of surprising and settling in your memory for a long time. Which proves once again that even the most banal idea can be promoted to something really interesting.