The Fall Guy (2024) Review

RATING: 7/10

THE life of a stuntman is indeed a thankless one: perform a life-threatening act, give a thumbs up to let the crew you're not dead, and do it all over again until you've got that perfect take. But at the end of the day, the movie industry relies on these working-class heroes to get the job done, all for our entertainment. And in a fortunate twist of fate, life imitates arts as The Fall Guy provides plenty of fun - and more.

Loosely based on the 80s TV series of the same name, The Fall Guy follows stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) where we find him performing stunts for major Hollywood star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Despite not loving his job, his love for camera operator and aspiring director Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) makes the pain more than worth it. However, an almost-career ending accident during production leaves Seavers critically-injured Upon his return to the industry, he is offered a chance back in the limelight by producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) as a stuntman in Ryder's new film, agreeing to take the job after discovering his now ex-girlfriend Jody is directing the movie, hoping that the project will bring the two back together since they've not seen one another since Seavers' accident. None too pleased about Seavers being apart of her project, Jody soon has even bigger problems after Tom Ryder mysteriously goes missing, leaving her and Colt with no choice but to team-up and uncover the truth behind the disappearance of Hollywood's biggest action star.

You'd be hard pressed to find any problems with an action comedy starring two of the leading faces behind last year's cinematic phenomenon that was Barbenheimer. And while the plot does lend itself to a myriad of potential jokes designed to slander the entertainment business, The Fall Guy never goes as hard as it feels like its going, unfortunately giving off a tiny sensation of self-indulgence. But on the plus-side, this pretentious feeling doesn't linger too long, disappearing just in time for David Leitch's unique directing style to kick into full-throttle and allow the film to form its own identity.

Gosling and Blunt - as expected - steal the show in their leading roles, playing off one another in a natural manner by borrowing traits from their most recent hits: Barbie (Gosling) and Oppenheimer (Blunt) respectively where the two also portrayed the love interests; a massive bonus and helpful advantage considering they would be on-screen lovers in The Fall Guy.

Despite a few minor pacing blunders during the third act, a directing problem Leitch's past projects Bullet Train and Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw have also suffered from, The Fall Guy still manages to provide enough fun and ludicrous action to keep audiences happy for a 2-hour runtime that breezes by. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt imbue enough of their own personality into this stunt-filled comedy to keep the wheels of The Fall Guy rolling, allowing the film to give love and admiration to the underappreciated heroes of cinema their due: stunt-people.