David Leitch as a stuntman has a very impressive career as he has worked on some incredibly stunt-heavy films such as The Matrix, Troy, Van Helsing and Mr. and Mrs. Smith to name just a few. Then John Wick came along which Leitch, alongside his partner Chad Stahelski, decide to direct and make the jump as a filmmaker too. The film had some intense and kinetic stunts which wowed the film industry and audiences alike. Since then Leitch has continued his role as filmmaker with more stunt-heavy films such as Atomic Blonde and Bullet Train. His latest film The Fall Guy is a love-letter to stunt performers and their legacy. The film may be based off a TV show of the same name but it is also an original story filled with action, romance, comedy and an A-List cast.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt star as a seasoned stunt performer and an up-and-coming filmmaker, Colt Seavers and Jody Moreno. Gosling still has it with his star power providing another charismatic lead role and Blunt is equally as brilliant as a naive filmmaker who is making a big budget Hollywood blockbuster film called Metalstorm. The star of Metalstorm is Tom Ryder, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who mysteriously goes missing and Seavers is tasked with finding him. What happens next involves a conspiracy, a murder and a lot of crazy antics. The film is all about Colt, the stunt-man, and the stunts themselves within this film are littered everywhere, some of which are crazy and some are completely insane. Like I said, this film was made to showcase and highlight just how hard these stunt performers work.
The film is an action comedy front and centre and there is some pretty cool and unique action set-pieces. The comedy, however, seems to be lacking. The promotional trailers and videos teased a lot of comedy, most of which does not actually appear in the film. As a result it feel dialled back a bit and it is a little noticeable. Some of the jokes don’t land sadly, but luckily Gosling is great at physical comedy too and there is a lot of that going on in the film which does kind of make up for it all. Taylor-Johnson does a superb job as a “wealthy and entitled” actor who wants it all and has poor judgement on the film industry. The clash and fighting between Taylor-Johnson and Gosling is fun to watch and is refreshing to see characters like these brought to life in a natural and organic way as opposed to other blockbuster films.
The film’s plot is very standard with a very uneven tone between the comedy aspects, the romance between Jody and Colt as well as the action set-pieces. I do think the film would have benefitted from a little more run-time but the overall result is entertaining enough. The action sequences and the set pieces feel very old-school with a lot of emphasis on practical effects, which further highlights the need for a stunt crew. Gosling and Blunt do a great job as their characters but I do feel like they could have had more screen time together and their romance could have been explored a bit more fully. The ending is slightly predictable but equally fun and the Australian setting also helps make the film stand out from the typically American-set action comedy films we’ve been getting off lately.
★★★☆☆
3/5
Final Verdict:
The Fall Guy shows a lot of love for the stunt working profession and rightly so. The stunts in the film are the highlight, from the opening fall to the car stunts in the Outback, everything feels real and big! The film is entertaining but sadly it could have had a better script. Saying that Blunt and Gosling pull off very charismatic performances, but again it is a shame they don’t share the screen enough for their chemistry to get the attention it deserves. The Fall Guy is just another example of how far action cinema has come along and here’s hoping for more films like this in the future.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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