Have you ever taken a closer look at non-playable characters in an open-world video game – who easily give in to pickpockets and gun violence? If so, Shawn Levy’s hit action rom-com “Free Guy” has a whole lot of glorious action and glitchy shenanigans in store for you. The story follows Guy, a kind-hearted blue-collar banker in the ultra-violent cosmopolis of Free City, where people who wear sunglasses are heroes. After meeting the girl of his dreams, Guy’s world turns upside down as he shakes off the chains imposed by the code. Aside from its stunning premise, the film packs cerebral driving sequences and epic combat to satisfy fans of the genre – all topped off with a gum-flavored romance in the middle. If you’re looking to decode the film’s purpose, that’s where we come in. AHEAD SPOILERS.
Free Guy Plot Synopsis
The story begins in Free City, where vandals and criminals run amok. People who wear sunglasses have superpowers and don’t talk to ordinary people. Guy wakes up, says hello to his goldfish Goldie, goes through his wardrobe full of blue shirts, and goes to his day job at a bank. Like every day, he goes to the cafe for a medium coffee with cream and two sugars, launching his catchphrase: “Not having a good day, having a GREAT day!” Like every day, the bank gets robbed and Guy’s security staff friend Buddy can’t do much.
However, Guy is still looking for the girl of his dreams, even in the middle of the flight. As Guy and Buddy plan to grab beers at night, a gambler named Molotovgirl comes to town, hoping to break into Revenjamin Buttons’ hideout. Guy encounters her while walking around town – and concluding that she is the girl of his dreams, Guy follows her into the multiplayer arena, getting run over by a freight train. When Guy wakes up the next morning, he feels the need to do things differently.
Meanwhile, we get the idea that Free City is a game and Guy is a non-playable character in it. After receiving a sunglasses from a player, Guy has his moment of enlightenment. Molotovgirl happens to be Millie, who created the original “Life Itself” game with her best friend Keys. However, Antwan, their publisher at Soonami Studios, spoofed the code for “Life Itself” to create “Free City”. But ‘Free City’ still has traces of the original, prompting Antwan to discard the original and develop a buggy sequel. Teaming up with Guy, who may be the very first standalone AI, Millie struggles to find the source code in the game world.
End of Guy free: who created Guy? What is Guy’s goal?
Keys created Guy as a love letter to Millie, who we know by the end of the film. Right from the start, we see that Guy and Millie have so many similarities – they both like ice cream and Bubble Gum flavored swings. However, since Guy is nothing more than a code, he shouldn’t have a preference for ice cream. Keys later divulges that he breathed meaning into Guy while creating him. Unlike other NPC characters, Guy has an elaborate backstory. His goal is to meet the girl of his dreams and break away from the mundane routine.
When Guy meets Millie, his life is fulfilled and he begins to develop his own neural network. He also gets sunglasses from one of the players in the bank and sees the city in a new light. With the sunglasses, Guy becomes one of the superheroes, but he can’t hurt people. So, Millie tells him to try to save people to level up. Now with purpose and direction, Guy quickly levels up, becoming a viral phenomenon. Antwan throws a few roadblocks in Guy’s journey, but it’s nothing he can’t handle.
In the end, Guy makes the trip across the bridge to the hidden place Millie and Keys created together. On the other side of success, Millie is talking to Antwan in the server room, who destroyed most of the Free City 1 servers. Millie makes a deal with Antwan, which allows her to keep the remaining parts of Free City 1 Keys and Millie adds some of their original code to create a virtual world from scratch, retaining all the original NPCs. Millie meets Guy again in the virtual sphere, and Guy tells her he’s free to do anything now, as he served to become a love letter.
Who does Millie end up with?
Guy and Millie belong to different worlds, and Guy realizes they can’t be together. Millie created the game, but she can’t live inside the game all her life. However, in the end, Millie realizes the person behind Guy’s avatar. MIT genius Keys wrote the code for most of the game, and he built Millie’s preferences into the game, so all NPCs get medium coffee with cream and two sugars, just like Millie l ‘love. Guy also likes bubblegum ice cream, an eccentric preference of Millie. Although Keys and Millie are old friends, Keys could never openly talk about his feelings for Millie. She realizes Keys’ feelings at the last moment – and heads for the cafe. Millie and Keys exchange glances across the street, and we think Millie and Keys end up together.
Is Buddy dead or alive?
Guy’s only friend in the game is Buddy, a security guard with a particular distaste for gun violence. The first time he draws his gun from the holster is when they head to Revenjamin Button’s hideout. Therefore, Buddy emerges as one of the most endearing characters in the game and in the film. When Millie disappears after Antwan cancels all player accounts, Guy is left alone to make the switch to the other side. When Antwan deploys DUDE, an upgraded version of Guy, things look pretty grim.
However, DUDE leaves Guy’s tail after retrieving the sunglasses, and Guy and Buddy begin to cross the bridge. Antwan didn’t expect Guy to come this far, and with his back to the wall, he picks up an ax and heads to the server room to destroy the servers. The game world collapses, and so does the bridge. Buddy and Guy run away – but Buddy falls behind, withering in the air like pixelated dust. However, the finale reveals that Buddy is alive and well in the new world. The keys and the company reprogram parts of the game, rebuilding Buddy in the process.
Read more: Where was Free Guy filmed?
