Free Guy (2021) review

A bank clerk named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) feels like there's something missing from his life - a partner - so when he spots Millie (Jodie Comer) on the street he becomes instantly smitten ... and then he realizes he's actually a non-playable character (abbreviated NPC) in a video game that's run by megalomaniac Antwan (Taika Waititi).  There have been plenty of gaming-themed movies to come out of late - Boss Level, Gamer, Ready Player One, Wreck-It Ralph and even the new Space Jam: A New Legacy - presumably to appeal to Fortnite-obsessed Generation Z, but aside from Reynolds' trademark snippiness/sarcasm, this has little going for it: the "philosophy" is about as deep as a fortune cookie, and then there's Waititi's man-child outbursts which become intolerable by the end (also, having any sort of knowledge about how programming works could take you out of the movie).  To make it even worse, I now feel awful for my Animal Crossing: New Horizons villagers ... poor Roald and Bunnie.