The Fall Guy – A Heartfelt Ode to Stuntmen (Early Review)

And the 2024 summer movie season officially kicks off with a bang in David Leitch’s delightful action rom-com The Fall Guy. Loosely inspired by the iconic Lee Majors TV of the same name from the 1980s, The Fall Guy follows Hollywood stuntman Colt Seavers (Gosling), brought out of retirement to track down missing action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor Johnson). Meanwhile, Colt’s ex-girlfriend Jody (Blunt) is making her big break as director on this shoot and if the studio finds out about Ryder, the whole production will be shut down putting Colt on a tight schedule to a) solve the mystery of his disappearance, b) rekindle his past romance with Jody by saving her movie, and c) still perform his stunt duties on set. He’s a stunt man, “no one is supposed to notice you’re ever there” Colt is told which makes him perfect for this secret gig.

While not the biggest fan of Leitch’s last few films as their action comedy sensibilities tipped far too noxiously in the latter camp, his latest and best film The Fall Guy weaves its multiple genres far more tactfully mostly due to its casting. In a post-Barbie world, Gosling’s comedic talents should come as no surprise but what he brings to this film cannot be understated enough. Colt’s journey throughout this film requires Gosling to juggle being a sexy romantic lead, badass hero and goofy, and self deprecating stunt detective as the film itself alternates between all 3 modes until converging for the third act. Having been retired due to an accident on set, Colt is convinced to come back into the fold to once again double for Tom Ryder upon hearing that his ex, Jody requested his expertise.

Hoping to rekindle the past flame he extinguished when Colt left everything behind post-accident, Colt agrees to take on the job. Prior to Ryder’s mysterious disappearance, the film ostensibly plays out as a romantic comedy between Blunt and Gosling. Their chemistry is fierce but her bitterness is still raw, leading to one of the film’s funniest scenes where she berates him on set with a megaphone in front of everyone for cutting ties so abruptly. As tensions cool and passions rekindle, Jody’s producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) employs Colt in secret to track down the missing Ryder, forcing Colt to balance his promises to Jody lest he disappoint her again, with a manhunt to save her movie. When the film shifts towards a more action packed route, Blunt unfortunately does take a bit of a back seat to the proceedings until the climax but the supporting cast, from the great Winston Duke as a movie quoting stunt coordinator to trained stunt dog “Jean Claude” who bites groins on command keep the ball rolling so to speak.

Similar to protagonist Colt Seavers, Leitch was once a stunt man before his break out co-directing gig with fellow (former) stuntman Chad Stahelski on John Wick. Since then, the two have started up their own production company “87North Productions”, whose logo is featured in film as the hired stunt company on Jody’s movie, a company that fosters stunt coordinators into directing action films themselves as well as providing stunt team services for other studios’ films. Understandably, the profession is something Leitch still holds near and dear to his heart since his background in stunt coordination enabled him and Stahelski to usher in the post-Bourne movement in American action films away from shaky cam and rapid editing towards longer takes and smooth, clean, choreographed action set pieces. The Fall Guy is one giant love letter to stunts, to highlighting the talented team behind all of our favourite action scenes and offering a meta look into the movie making process.

Leitch’s unique insight into this process is the film’s beating heart and that earnestness goes a long way. The film’s action set pieces are twofold, you get on set stunts for the movie within the movie as well as stunts off set giving the audience a chance to see the action with the wires/set ups/doubles as well as enjoy the stunts as they would in a normal movie. The set pieces throughout are creative, thrilling and impressive to watch unfold, in particular a show stopper car chase midway through involving a rotating garbage truck container as Gosling is dragged from behind. Off screen, The Fall Guy also holds the distinction of being the first ever film to have the “Stunt Designer” credit, further helping legitimize a side of Hollywood that’s been long overdue in getting the same recognition as their industry peers. Hopefully this paves the way to stunts being added as an Oscars category in the near future!

The Fall Guy is a great blockbuster to kick off the summer movie season, with another terrific Gosling performance, charming chemistry with Emily Blunt, and a fun unfolding mystery that will take audience on a ride filled with plenty of laughs and thrills. A film designed for nothing more than to entertain. It’s nothing mind blowing but it delivers exactly as promised, just a good time at the movies!

still courtesy of Universal Pictures

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Alex Josevski

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