Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy has been a critical and commercial success due to the entertainment value provided in the presentation of the video game world of Free City. The movie has a number of references to the tropes found in gaming, with its outline also similar to other movies adapted from video game franchises.
In theory, a horror movie like Resident Evil is about the same as a family-friendly feature such as Pokémon or an action-adventure like Prince of Persia. The world in Free Guy saw the main character Guy indulge in several aspects to comedic effect in his quest against Antwan, but it’s interesting to see just how many similarities are there between all game-based movies.
10 Events Take Place In A Short Span Of Time
Emulating the fast pace atmosphere of video games, films based on them tend to be set within a relatively short span of time. Free Guy took place within a few days at most, to go along the likes of Assassin’s Creed, Hitman, Tekken, among others, all of which saw the protagonists figure out what to do in quick succession.
On other occasions, the events even take place within the span of a day, with this happening due to the main characters chasing after a particular goal or escaping enemies. This was the case with Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
9 Fight Scenes That Pay Homage To Gameplay Elements
As the video game characters’ identities are tied to their fighting styles, movies tend to incorporate this as well. They might not be the only notable thing about the protagonists, but these elements show up at least once to acknowledge the connection with the source material.
This was displayed with a number of gaming references in Free Guy, such as Guy’s use of the Rainbow Smash pickaxe from Fortnite. The Prince used the parkour-style of combat in The Sands of Time, while Lara Croft wielded her iconic revolvers during her adventures in Tomb Raider.
8 References To Popular Levels
The general idea of the backdrop of video game movies is largely the same as their original counterparts but the live-action interpretations tend to revamp them. There’s always an exception and these are reserved for the levels that fans have liked the most.
Sonic the Hedgehog brought the mushroom world in view, while Prince of Persia featured the hourglass location as was the setting of the final fight in the game. These locations are usually brought forward as a way to surprise viewers with a live-action version of levels that made the games so popular in the first place.
7 Costumes That Resemble The Most Iconic Skin Of The Characters
This is most prevalent in movies that don’t feature big budgets and tend to adapt the characters almost exactly how they are in the games. Super Mario Bros., Tekken, Tomb Raider, and Mortal Kombat, all had the protagonists and antagonists don the costumes of their original counterparts and made it a point for this aspect to be noted by viewers.
Movies that vary a bit here usually feature original outfits but still feature a few scenes where the characters look as they do in the source material. This was the case in Assassin’s Creed and Hitman, where the main characters put on the iconic costumes for select scenes to acknowledge the video game connection.
6 The Protagonist Learns A Deep Secret
Video game movies put more focus on the setting than the plot, with the result being that an underlying secret drives the story until the climax. This is kickstarted either by an outsider forcing the protagonist to see the truth or the events put into motion after the main character follows a trail of clues to uncover the mystery.
In Detective Pikachu, the main character found out that humans were turning into Pokemon, while Lara Croft: Tomb Raider showed the titular character finding the secret behind her father’s disappearance. It was after he learned he was in a video game world that Guy became one of the smartest Free Guy characters, as the other NPCs had no free will.
5 The Protagonist Has A Close Companion
Single-player video games usually have a supporting character to provide the protagonist with information to progress in the story. Multiplayer games feature a co-op that allows a character to be by the side of the hero the entire journey. Movies based on games can be a combination of both these aspects.
Usually, they’re reminiscent of a co-op mode where another character shows up as a companion and their dynamic is part of the plot. Detective Pikachu was exactly this way, as the Pikachu’s appearance began the mystery. Free Guy had Millie accompany Guy to find her secret code, while Hitman and Prince of Persia saw the protagonists protect a female companion who was the key to defeating the villain.
4 Villain Characterizations Aren't Layered
Fans who thought ahead and played certain video games to prepare for Free Guy would have noticed that the film adaptation of these titles didn’t have much to do with the villain. That’s because movies based on games keep antagonists purely as a provider of conflict rather than character quality.
These villains are there to be one-note personalities whose evil side is their dominant trait. Antwan had no redeeming characteristics in Free Guy and was bad simply for the heck of it. Similarly, the Vizier in Prince of Persia wanted to be king, monsters in Rampage had no conscience and simply destroyed things, while Resident Evil villains just wanted to infect the population.
3 Shift In Tone After The Opening Scene
Opening scenes serve their purpose to provide an idea over what the plot hook will be but the truth of the matter is kept a mystery. Although it may very, the next scene tends to introduce the protagonist and are either comedic if it fits the hero’s personality or is action-packed with the main character showing off their skills.
Free Guy showed the danger of the video game world in its opening scene with lots of destruction, only for the next to shift tones and show Guy being completely clueless. In the same vein, Hitman showed a montage of children being trained as assassins in the past, and the following scene chronologically taking place near the end of the movie with 47 narrating the events.
2 Endings With Sequel Hooks
The intent behind making video game movies is to cash in on the popularity of the franchise. To this end, stories include elements that can be expanded upon in potential follow-ups. These are usually mildly laid out, although they can end in cliffhangers as well.
Resident Evil’s hook was the uncertainty behind Alice’s survival and where she would go next, while Prince of Persia had fans speculate a sequel based on the chance of the sands of time getting released again. Free Guy had a complete ending but there were questions about the nature of the new world Guy lived in that can easily be the basis for the sequel’s plot.
1 Climax Plays Out Like A Boss Fight
This is an aspect that is nearly identical in video game and film iterations, with the hero going up against the villain in grand fashion. The final fight has the antagonist hold all the cards while the protagonist has to target their weak points to systematically defeat them.
Free Guy showed Guy facing Dude in a boss fight where he made use of weapons from other games to beat him. Max Payne featured a huge shootout against mooks to get to the villain on the helipad, while Prince of Persia had a level design where the hero had to get to the hourglass by dodging the collapsing environment and fight the Vizier.
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