Review: The Fall Guy – More than stunt casting
Directed by David Leitch
Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham
7/10
Why revive this intellectual property?
There’s no way the 1981 series starring Lee Majors has a foothold in the pop cultural zeitgeist, even if it did run for five seasons. Still, the base concept of The Fall Guy could have potential. A stunt performer trying to solve mysteries fits neatly into the “detective with a twist” format and allows for a glimpse of a seedy Hollywood underbelly combined with some unique action scenes. The lack of a rabid fanbase also allows a degree of freedom to alter what doesn’t work without inviting a backlash.
The last thing anyone was expecting was a genuine passion for the project, but that’s exactly what we have here.
After a fall goes spectacularly wrong, stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is putting his life back together, away from the film industry. When the star he doubled for goes missing, Colt is lured to Australia to try and find him. However, he soon discovers that the stakes are higher than just his ex’s (Emily Blunt) first film shoot.
Director David Leitch’s (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train) extensive experience in stunt work shines through here. This is a love letter to the underappreciated stunt performers of cinematic history, by someone who worked his way through that industry. As such, the action sequences are impressively staged without overwhelming the emotional core of the film (as is often the case in the later Mission: Impossible or Fast and Furious films). Instead, they’re fun interludes that don’t halt the flow of the narrative while often also giving us a little insight into the stunt performer’s profession. Although part of the joy of The Fall Guy is that it’s littered with inside Hollywood jokes and film references.
Yet the real surprise is that this film actually has an emotional core at all. Narratively, The Fall Guy is not overly complex; it is an action comedy with mystery elements and a central character undergoing a bit of a redemption arc with some romance. Yet with the chemistry of Gosling and Blunt, that romance is brought to the forefront. Nor is it just smouldering passion, but rather a delightful awkwardness as both tentatively recover from past mistakes.
It allows Gosling to demonstrate some real vulnerability, deconstructing the projected machismo of a stuntman image. Blunt is her usual dependable self, demonstrating fine comedic timing and deadpan delivery. She’s no damsel in distress either, as she is capable of demonstrating a brutal penmanship that would make John Wick wince.
Despite falling apart a little in the final act (which it lampshades early on), this is a surprisingly solid comedy-action thriller. The emphasis on character drama, the genuine fondness for film, and its touch of Hollywood noir all give The Fall Guy a point of difference to the traditional genre fare. Add a director who’s experienced in filming action and two dependable leads, and this is as good as we could have hoped for.
DAVID O’CONNELL