Ryan Reynolds's "protagonist" seems like a sight to behold at once. But you will fall in love with him immediately

On August 12, Sean Levy's action comedy "The Main Hero" with the star of "Deadpool" Ryan Reynolds in the title role will be released on the screens of Russian cinemas. The plot of the film unfolds around a background, insignificant character of a computer game - the so-called non-player character, or NPC.

The main character (you can already start grinning here), a friendly bank employee named Guy (Ryan Reynolds), leads a very ordinary life. But everything changes a meeting with a mysterious stranger (Jody Comer).

To impress a girl, a man stops obeying the rules. And after a while, he suddenly realizes that he lives in a video game, and he is only a background character in it. Gradually, the Guy from an inconspicuous NPC becomes a streaming star. Because of this, the eccentric creator of the game Antoine (Taika Waititi) decides to close it.

At first, it may seem that the plot is quite ordinary and it included a piece of all the known titles: “Ready Player One” (by the way, his screenwriter Zach Penn worked on “The Main Character”), “Lego. Film "," Akimbo Cannons "… But Sean Levy's film suddenly turns out to be smarter and thinner than the average expensive blockbuster. And certainly cooler than you might expect from the trailer.

Wonderful humor, close to movie fans and gamers

Of course, an Action / RPG video game movie should work as a cool visual attraction in the first place. But the "protagonist" deserves attention not only because of the explosions and chases. Although I have to give it credit: these scenes are staged just fine.

But it is also surprising how ridiculous it is all staged and written. And Reynolds, as he himself says Ryan Reynolds: "In the last 10 years we have lived in such a strange format that now is the time to become different" / GQ, also participated in the creation of the script.

And the actor, along with Taika Waititi, as a seed for the film, recorded the comic reaction of Deadpool and Korg React / Ryan Reynolds / YouTube on the trailer for "Hero". There, colleagues appeared in the images of Deadpool and Korg, and the first one put as many as four out of five avocados for the future picture.

In general, it is clear that the creators are all right with self-irony, and this is the guarantee of good humor in the picture. It is clear that there is no smell of freshness and innovation here, but the authors find ways to ridicule a lot of phenomena of film and game culture. And they do it just fine.

So, at the beginning of the film, it seems that Reynolds is about to sing “Everything is fine with us”, like the central character of “Lego. Film ". There will also be good jokes about Marvel heroes, and even a small cameo by Chris Evans. And in the scenes on the seashore, where the character is literally on the edge of the world, the influence of "The Truman Show" is felt.

Shot from the movie "The main character"

There are quite a lot of gaming references here - both explicit and not so much. And most of them will definitely be understandable to viewers who have played MMORPG at least once. Even the name of the location where the main action takes place - Free City - sounds almost like Night City. This is the name of the city from the sensational Cyberpunk.

And the game company "Sunami" is surprisingly in tune with the real Konami. Jodie Comer's appearance refers to Tracer, a very popular heroine from Overwatch among fans.

The only sad thing is that the humor based on the language game, as is often the case, was lost in translation. Jokes about god mode and skins (at these moments Reynolds' hero thinks that he literally needs to take off his skin) sound much funnier in the original.

And not only them: the main character and his friend in the English version are named Guy and Buddy, which means "boyfriend" and "buddy" and corresponds to their role in the plot. But they are also male names, which creates an additional comedic effect.

Cute and colorful characters played by excellent actors

A huge part of the pleasant experience is created by the brilliant acting ensemble. Ryan Reynolds' game can be talked about for a very long time, and it is really great. His character is a true embodiment of unbending optimism and kindness, almost like Ted Lasso. He will definitely fall in love with the audience.

Serial stars Jody Comer (Killing Eve) and Joe Keery (Stranger Things) are no less organic in their roles. The first perfectly expresses two images at once: a sexy online warrior and a geek girl. Moreover, in both the actress looks equally charming. Kiri, unlike her, spends most of the time in real life, but he will also have a small scene with reincarnation, at which it is simply impossible not to laugh.

But all the attention of the audience will definitely be drawn to the hilarious Taika Waititi. The creator of "Real Ghouls" ate the dog on shocking transformations - take at least Hitler from "Jojo Rabbit" or the pampered vampire Viago. Here Waititi played the narcissistic director of a game studio. And this character will cause the effect of recognition among everyone who has ever encountered tyrant bosses.

Important topics hidden behind jokes and action

The film, however, is notable not only for its great visuals, humor and acting. Here, in addition, there is something to think about: in the course of the narrative, the authors touch on topics that are quite important for geek-culture.

This is, for example, the violence in video games and the way people are rethinking their attitude towards it lately. So, gamers often turn In Skyrim they found a way to kill immortal NPCs and children without mods / Shazoo killing NPCs is almost an exciting sport or for fun they kill their wards in the simulators of The Sims series. Probably, due to the conventionality of the game reality, it is difficult for people to perceive insignificant characters deeper.

Another important plot aspect is related to how large companies kill small startups, and unusual ideas are processed in the name of profit into a faceless corporate product.

Finally, in the finale of The Main Character, the theme of the author's relationship with his creation also emerges. The film literally shows that a successful work of art, as a rule, lives and develops separately from the creator (and this is great).

The "protagonist", despite all the obvious lightness, brightness and glossiness, can become a kind of therapy for people who urgently need to cheer up or believe in themselves. You may quickly forget it after the session. But the feeling of warmth from this sincere and talented movie will not leave you for a long time.