A movie is rarely as self-aware as The Fall Guy, David Leitch's Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt-led thriller.
Previously, Leitch's movies have suffered from convoluted scripts — Atomic Blonde, Bullet Train, and Deadpool 2 all have them. The one constant? The action.
To that end, The Fall Guy succeeds. From its record-breaking roll sequence to the third-act set piece, the movie has flashes of being the epic four-quadrant blockbuster Twisters ended up being.
Plus, it has two of the biggest stars in Hollywood, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, driving it. While far from a catastrophic failure, it is a step down from David Leitch's Atomic Blonde and Bullet Train. That does not mean it is not fun in its ways.
The Fall Guy review
Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is on top of the world to start The Fall Guy. He is a successful stuntman to Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), this universe's equivalent to Gosling himself, and dating camerawoman Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt).
After a devastating stunt goes wrong, Colt is left shattered. He disappears and goes from a stuntman to valet within 18 months. It is a sad fall from grace.
His luck seems to turn around upon hearing from producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham). She offers him a part as a stuntman on Jody's directorial debut, Metalstorm, which is like a royalty-free Dune.
Upon arriving, Colt realizes that A.) Jody does not want him there, and B.) something sinister is going on as Tom goes missing. Colt is enlisted to solve the mystery while he tries not to sink the production.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt's charisma leads the movie
If not for having Gosling and Blunt at the forefront of it, The Fall Guy could have easily fallen flat. Gosling and Blunt have the classic “Will they, won't they?” rom-com dynamic. By far, the highlight of their shared screen time involves Taylor Swift's “All Too Well.”
It should be no surprise that Gosling and Blunt are the highlights. Gosling is fresh off one of his most dynamic performances as Ken in Barbie. In The Fall Guy, Colt is a lovable mess attempting to solve a mystery far bigger than him.
Gosling's Colt Seavers is a lot different than fellow fictional stuntman Cliff Booth from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He is still cool, but he's reaching the twilight of his career. On the contrary, Cliff took his prime passing by in stride and everyone aspires to have his swagger.
Blunt has the equivalent of Daisy Edgar-Jones' role in Twisters. She does not have the same fun sequences as Gosling does and largely grounds the movie with her role.
Colt leaving and going off the grid impacted more than just himself. His “fling” with Jody was reaching its peak before he threw it all away. Her resentment is evident, and her forgiveness is even harder to win.
The thriller aspects fall short
Once Colt investigates Tom's disappearance, The Fall Guy comes up short. That does not mean there are no fun sequences — the tripped-out fight scene and Colt's unicorn hallucinations are hilarious — but there is a surrealness to the noir parts of the movie. It almost feels like David Fincher's The Game.
The result seems rather obvious, but how The Fall Guy gets there is convoluted. Ironically, a character acknowledges that their whole plot is convoluted, which does not excuse the actual movie being so.
Plus, the movie features a star-studded ensemble consisting of Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, and Winston Duke. Unfortunately, anyone not named Gosling, Blunt, and Waddingham are underutilized.
That is because the movie is hyper-focused on Colt. The other supporting characters, especially Hsu and Duke, are like NPCs on a side quest. They deliver their essential exposition, another critique pointed out by a character in the movie, before disappearing into the background.
A love letter to stuntmen
But I would be lying if I said The Fall Guy was concerned with its plot. It is here for the spectacle and the spectacle only. Leitch, a former stuntman, is paying homage to his past while pushing blockbuster filmmaking forward.
He is no stranger to that. His past movies all have great stunt work. What makes The Fall Guy stand above the rest in that regard is its scope. So many blockbusters are CGI-heavy and laced with unrealistic visuals.
The Fall Guy looks fantastic and as practical as it gets for an action movie. Punches hit, and it never looks fake — even when Gosling is pulled by a truck during a high-octane chase. It is a testament to David Leitch's devotion to making a true action-thriller.
Leitch set out to highlight the work stuntmen do with the opening and closing moments of the movie (the credits include a montage of behind-the-scenes footage).
Should you watch The Fall Guy?
The Fall Guy is not as good as it could have been — a tighter script with more focus on supporting characters and a less clunky third-act resolution would have gone a long way. Still, the movie is the kind of fun the summer season begs for.
And it is a shame it did not do better than it did at the box office, especially given its star power. The Fall Guy made just $177 million worldwide. Hollywood desperately needs non-MCU or Pixar movies to succeed.
In The Fall Guy, someone comments on Jody's movie flopping and her going to “director's jail.” Hopefully, David Leitch will be able to continue making action flicks. None of his films are perfect, but he is one of the few filmmakers able to make real action movies.
Grade: B-
The Fall Guy is available on streaming, Blu-ray, and DVD.
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