by Jeff Alan, Contributing Writer
The first big action/comedy of the summer movie season, The Fall Guy, has arrived, and it’s full of explosions, well-choreographed stunts, and laugh-out-loud moments! The film unites director David Leitch with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, with a supporting cast of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, and Teresa Palmer.
We follow Hollywood stuntman, Colt Seavers (Gosling), who, after suffering a major injury on set, leaves the stunt world behind, along with his girlfriend, a camerawoman named Jody (Blunt). Over a year later, Colt has a chance to get back into the world of movie stunts when his Hollywood lookalike, and international movie star, Tom Ryder (Taylor-Johnson), is working on a new film in Australia and needs his stuntman back. The only thing that makes Colt even remotely interested in working on this film is that it’s Jody’s big break as a director, so Colt immediately gets on a plane to see her once again. But upon arriving to set, Colt is given the news that Ryder has been MIA for days, and the producer (Waddingham) tasks Colt with tracking him down in between shoot days and bringing him back to work.
The Fall Guy excels in nearly every aspect of its production! Gosling and Blunt are a wonderful pairing, as their chemistry is palpable. I wish Gosling would be cast in more comedies. We know he has the chops, with his best being The Nice Guys, but he isn’t put into many of those roles. But outside of that fact, he is pretty funny in this! Thankfully, none of the comedy is over-the-top in any way. It’s grounded and never goes too far with its jokes, meaning that it doesn’t beat a joke to death or get too silly with anything it’s doing; the jokes come and go for the perfect amount of time.
It definitely stands out how much this film is a genuine love letter to not just the world of stunts, but the world of filmmaking itself! As someone who has worked on major motion pictures in the past and seen what goes into the many hours of planning, prepping, and practicing of various stunts and action sequences, it was so cool to see this work represented in a way that not only looks fun and cool, but shows the level of hard work that goes into accomplishing those stunts. Everyone, from the producers, to the cameramen, to the stunt performers, puts an equal amount of effort into making a thing we pay money to see in theaters, and watching this film, I was once again reminded of that hard work — I give my appreciation to those people!
And all of the crew members who put in the work on The Fall Guy should be proud, because its stunt work and choreography is outstanding! Every action sequence looks meticulously planned and executed, probably in part to Leitch’s stunt coordinator background and his love of that area of film. You can tell that copious amounts of time and attention were brought to this, not only from watching the movie itself, but also from the behind-the-scenes footage shown during the credits. It really wants to show the viewer how underrepresented and underappreciated the stunt teams are, and I think it’s high time we all as a mainstream audience recognize it!
As far as negatives are concerned, I have next to nothing. My only nitpick is that the main story (while good) takes a little while to start, as it must get the audience familiar with Gosling and Blunt’s characters and their dynamics. But once Gosling’s “mission” starts, the film kicks it into gear. And like I said, while the story is good, it’s not one that’s going to change your life, not that I was expecting a plot that was going to leave me breathless and lost for words. It’s good but not great, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing! This movie has the exact sort of story it needs to show off its love of the art of filmmaking, and it gives Gosling and Blunt a wonderful platform to charm the audiences!
So if you haven’t gathered by now, The Fall Guy excels, and David Leitch knocks another fun action/comedy out of the park.
Rating: High Side of Liked It
The Fall Guy is currently playing in theaters
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