The first Free Guy movie reactions have begun rolling out and are calling the Ryan Reynolds-led adventure the surprise hit of the summer. The sci-fi action comedy centers on Guy, a non-player character in an open-world video game entitled Free City who yearns for a better life. Upon meeting Milly, one of the developers behind the game, Guy learns of his real existence and decides to become the hero of his story and team up with Milly to save the game before publisher Antoine can shut it down.

Alongside Reynolds, the cast for Free Guy includes Emmy winner Jodie Comer as Milly, Stranger Things' Joe Keery as fellow developer Keys, Get Out's Lil Rel Howery as fellow NPC Buddy and Oscar winner Taika Waititi as Antoine. Development on the film first began at 20th Century Fox prior to the Disney-Fox merger and became one of the first films to continue production under the new studio name 20th Century Studios with Reynolds producing the film alongside director Shawn Levy. As with many films last year, Free Guy saw its release pushed back numerous times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but is finally coming to theaters this August and critics have finally gotten to sit down to watch the film.

Related: Why Deadpool's Disney Debut Was In A Non-Marvel Trailer

Critics have begun sharing their early reactions to Free Guy and the results are highly positive for the sci-fi action comedy. Much of the praise is being directed to the performances from Reynolds, Comer and Keery while also highlighting its heartwarming tone, fun pacing and calling it one of the best surprises of the summer. See some of the reactions below:

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

Click here to see the original post

While early reactions are never a concrete answer on whether a film is good or not, the reception to Free Guy thus far is very promising. Save for Detective Pikachu, Reynolds hasn't led a PG-13 blockbuster effort since R.I.P.D. and everyone knows the critical and commercial dud that turned out to be for both the star and Universal Pictures, which makes the positive Free Guy reactions very hopeful. The star's charm and humor are certainly able to venture outside of the R-rated world, but with multiple journalists already calling the film hilarious, it's a good early sign for Reynolds fans.

Even more intriguing is to see so many calling Free Guy one of the best surprises to grace the big screen this summer. With the season already full of bright and cheerful titles like In The Heights, Luca and Jungle Cruise, the early reception for Reynolds' film does feel like the biggest draw back to the theater yet. Additionally, pairing James Gunn's early-acclaimed The Suicide Squad a week before it is setting August up to be one of the most fun months for audiences to head to cinemas.

More: Summer Movies 2021: Everything Coming To Theaters (When They're Open)

Sources: Various [see links above]

Key Release Dates