The Fall Guy review

The Fall Guy is a good movie constantly at war with itself to be great but ultimately falls short.

The film is loosely based on the 1981-1986 TV series starring Lee Majors as stuntman Colt Seavers. In the show, Colt was a stuntman who moonlit as a bounty hunter.  That concept would probably have worked just fine as the film’s plot.

Ryan Gosling (Barbie) stars as Colt, who’s just an average stuntman. He’s been the longtime man behind the face, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, The King’s Man), an obnoxious preening actor who’s been coddled since he brings in millions to Hollywood studios.

Colt doesn’t care about the spotlight as he’s romancing Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer), an aspiring director making her way up the ranks.

An on-set accident sends Colt plummeting to the depths of despair for months isolating himself from friends and Jody. Colt’s old producer friend, Gail (Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso), calls him up to help bail out her latest production. They need an experienced stuntman to handle Tom’s stunts. There’s just one tiny catch — Jody’s the director and she’s not thrilled to have Colt on her set.

With the help of his pal and set stunt coordinator Dan (Winston Duke, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Colt starts to get back on Jody’s good side.  That’s just in time for Gail to tell him why she really needed him — Tom’s gone missing, and she wants Colt to track him down. And Colt has to do it while keeping Jody in the dark about her first major film getting derailed.

Gosling has found a comfortable niche as this action/comedy star. Even when the script gets shaky, his commitment to the material allows him to keep weaker scenes watchable.

Duke and Waddingham are very fun in their supporting roles and Taylor-Johnson makes being a jerk superstar look too easy.  Blunt shows her tremendous versatility again.

At times, The Fall Guy film about a stuntman gets sidetracked focusing on Jody’s plight as the director. They’re not as interesting as the mishaps of the unknown stuntman, but Blunt doesn’t allow them to drag the movie down.

MORE:

• Atlas review
• The Iron Claw review
• X-Men ’97 Tolerance is Extinction – Part 2 review S1 E9
• The Last Stop in Yuma County review

Drew Pearce’s (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw) screenplay is the center of most of the frustration. Pearce seems conflicted if he’s writing an action comedy, a rom com with action elements or a goofy 80s homage. Settling on one tone would have been helpful and make the film less tonally chaotic.

At times the comedy feels too forced. In other instances, it works very well. Dan and Colt’s running gag about movie quotes is playful, fun and doesn’t get overdone.

Director David Leitch (Bullet Train), himself a former stuntman, is clearly motivated by this chance to show the not-so glamorous life of stuntmen and stuntwomen. This results in some incredibly intricate and thrilling action/stunt sequences. Leitch might lack some restraint letting some of the scenes go on and on, but it’s understandable.

Pacing does become more of an issue by the 90-minute mark as there’s another 30 minutes to go. There are some scenes that would have been far more effective in half the time that just play out so long they lose their impact. Too much of the Colt and Jody scenes are focused on him awkwardly trying to win her back. Their interaction is much stronger once they get on the same page in the final act.

Make sure to sit through the credits for a glimpse of the stunt work involved and a welcome post-credit scene with a fun payoff.

The Fall Guy’s star power and well staged action scenes make it a solid recommendation. Ironically, a greater emphasis on a tighter script instead of bigger and badder stunts would have made for one of 2024’s top films.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Pre-order The Fall Guy on Blu-Ray on Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.