REVIEW — “The Fall Guy”

The Barbenheimer duo of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt light up the screen in Kenergetic, charisma-soaked, action thriller The Fall Guy.

Directed by real life stuntman David Leitch (Bullet Train, Deadpool 2), The Fall Guy follows movie stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) a working-class hero who regularly falls from tall buildings, rolls brand-new cars, and gets shot, blown up, and thrown through windows to make movie stars look good on film.

The battle-scarred stuntman was forced to leave the business after a stunt gone wrong almost ended his career. After licking his wounds and parking cars for a year, he is drafted back into service by a ruthless producer (Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham) to discreetly track down missing movie star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the actor Colt used to stunt double. Taylor-Johnson perfectly plays the egotistic movie star as an insecure ass who is afraid of performing his own stunts but too proud to admit it. While in character, he also pulls off one of the best Matthew McConaughey impressions ever committed to film.

Turns out, Ryder is the star of a mega-budget space-cowboy movie directed by Colt’s ex-flame, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). Enticed by the opportunity to charm his way back into Jody’s good graces and finally star in his own story instead of riding shotgun in someone else’s, Colt spends his days performing the film’s outrageous stunts to keep production on track while maneuvering through Sydney, Australia’s underworld at night to find Ryder and keep his disappearance a secret from the studio, the public, and the press.

As Colt falls deeper into the mystery of the missing star, he soon finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy that could be setting him up as the literal fall guy. Can the unknown stuntman keep his day job, solve a sinister plot, and win back the love of his life while doing it?

After years of stellar performances in emotional dramas (Half Nelson), romantic musicals (La La Land), and stoic thrillers (Drive), Ryan Gosling is on a comedic hot streak. In addition to his scene-stealing turn as Ken in 2023’s Barbie, Gosling single-handedly won this year’s Oscars without actually winning an Oscar with his electric live rendition of “I’m Just Ken.” As the new Colt Seavers, Gosling is in the pocket as the charming, yet, bumbling everyman, channeling the same doofus swagger that served him well in The Nice Guys.

Alongside the always amazing and quick-witted Blunt, Gosling gets to enjoy a new on-screen partnership that fully embraces the type of playful banter and competitive chemistry that has long been a rom-com staple of classic Hollywood. This is a refreshing change of pace for the actor after portraying Ken, a romantically-stifled himbo whose advances were kept at arm’s length by Margot Robbie’s Barbie. Hopefully the Gosling/Blunt pairing has similar legs to Gosling’s collaborative partnership with Emma Stone.

Gosling is also a compelling advocate for stuntmen, a community of artists that are still not awarded with their own Oscar category. From explosive boat chases to high-speed truck surfing, the film boasts some of the most daring stunts outside of a Tom Cruise movie. And, as revealed in one of two post credit scenes, Gosling impressively performs several of his own stunts himself, a badge of honor that he wears proudly. However, I think it was a missed opportunity to have Blake Shelton cover “The Unknown Stuntman” instead of proven showman Gosling. It would have been a cool nod to have him record the show’s theme song like original star Lee Majors did back in the 80s.

That’s not to say this film lacks epic music. In addition to a hilariously emotional scene set to Taylor Swift’s breakup anthem “All Too Well (10 minute version) (Taylor’s Version),” there are also memorable needle drops in The Fall Guy such as: AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” The Miami Vice theme, a musical motif inspired by KISS’ “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” and a Blunt-led karaoke sing-a-long of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds.” Because of these moments and the lead’s undeniable chemistry, I predict audiences will fall hard for The Fall Guy, a hilarious, high-flying, heavy-hitting, action-comedy that is a love letter to the unsung heroes that work tirelessly behind and in front of the camera to make action movies so epic. 4/5

From a screenplay by Drew Pearce that’s inspired by the hit 1980s TV series starring Lee Majors, The Fall Guy also stars Winston Duke and Stephanie Hsu.
Rated PG-13 with a running time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, The Fall Guy opens in theaters on May 3, 2024.