THE FALL GUY (2024) - Movie Review

Director: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron-Taylor Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
Writer: Glen A. Larson, Drew Pearce
Runtime: 126 min
Rated: PG-13 for action and violence, drug content and some strong language.
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), 4K Ultra HD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman fresh off an almost career-ending accident. Colt is persuaded to return to his stunt career when he's told his ex, Jody (Emily Blunt), is directing a film and asked for him specifically. With hopes of winning back the love of his life, Colt returns to set only to find the movie's leading man missing and production in peril. Ensnared in an increasingly wild conspiracy, he must solve the mystery to save Jody's film and get one last shot with her. What could possibly go right? David Leitch (director of Bullet Train and producer of John Wick) delivers a hard-hitting, hilarious action-thriller with The Fall Guy.

Review:

A love letter to stunt people and the dangers they confront for our entertainment, the action comedy "The Fall Guy" finds Ryan Gosling in top form as he embodies stuntman Colt Seavers in this adaptation of a rather obscure 1980s TV show starring Lee Majors and Heather Thomas. Both Majors and Thomas have a cameo during the film's mid-credits sequence.

The TV show's case-of-the-week formula echoes throughout this movie, both in a good and a bad way. The retro vibe of the mystery at the core of this film takes us on a neat nostalgia trip, and that's good, but with almost two-hours of running time, the plot is spread very thin, and comes very close to wearing out its welcome. Alas, all is saved by an explosive third act that features all the cool stunts you could possibly desire.

Gosling is his usual funny and charismatic self and carries the entire movie with his star power. Yes, I said it, star power, in a time when stars have all but faded from mainstream culture. Emily Blunt also rises to the occasion and the two actors share incredible screen chemistry in one of the most entertaining big screen romances I have seen in a long time.

In supporting roles, Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham and Aaron Taylor-Johnson also deserve mentions. Waddingham in particular is fantastic in an almost unrecognizable performance.

As for the action, this movie has it all. Car chases, boat chases, helicopter stunts, gun fights, hand to hand fights, sword fights, dog fights and please forgive me if I've left something out, because it's really hard to keep track of it all. Although the plot is pretty thin, the action sequences are spread out evenly, never becoming exhausting, or too sparse.

Director David Leitch is a former stunt performer and coordinator, and he uses all his experience and knowledge to not only craft brilliant action set pieces, but also infuse the film with a certain reverence, a rare celebration of stunt people and their awe-inspiring work. I can't even begin to imagine why the Oscars don't have a category for these amazing teams, but it's about time they make one. In the meantime, go watch this movie, it's unadulterated fun of the highest order.

SCORE: 8/10