in brief: the go to stuntman for hollywood’s hottest action star, Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) quits the business after a life-threatening accident, only to be enticed back when his ex Jody (Emily Blunt) directs her first movie, The Metalstorm, and misplaces both her star and his new stunt double.
for me: if you saw their brief segment at the oscars this year, you will understand the level of chemistry that Blunt and Gosling have, and it’s impossible to hide it in this film. despite their characters reuniting after a messy breakup, they can’t help but immediately forgive and (somewhat) forget, in what is the only unconvincing spot in the whole movie. that aside, it’s stupidly fun, with rapid-fire quips, a very good dog (they’re all good dogs, Brant), and – obviously – outstanding stunt work, courtesy of director Leitch’s 87North productions, who get a fair bit of screen credit themselves. as much as it’s a charm-off between the stars, it’s also a celebration of stunt work, self-consciously referencing not only the recent history of action cinema, but also the lack of representation in awards ceremonies. (when the oscars aired the Emily/Ryan segment i honestly thought they were about to announce it as a new category, and frankly it’s shameful that they couldn’t.) as a film about film-makers it operates on a heightened level, dropping hints about what it wants to do and where it wants to go, and has the most fun with this in the stunt work, whether it’s a Metalstorm set piece or a Fall Guy one. in fact, they often seem to add an extra action beat onto the end of a sequence, just to give them the chance to throw an extra move in for kicks (or rolls, or jumps…). i never watched the tv show, and i definitely wasn’t adversely affected by that omission, as the film launches breathlessly into its own world, even getting away with a voiceover that perhaps wasn’t entirely necessary. no-one’s going to be complaining when this one avoids the awards circuit, but you’re a fool if you don’t want to see it!
mvp: MARY!!! as the film got under way the acting credits started to appear on screen, and each one elicited a little joy from me. obviously i knew about Poppins and Baby Goose, and that ATJ was pre-Bonding as the film star, but then Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham, Theresa Palmer and Stephanie Hsu‘s names all popped up as well, and before i could say to myself, “i enjoy all these actors and can’t wait to see what they bring to this cinematic treat i’m about to experience,” the names of the casting team appeared. the second name was Lindsay Graham, one i’ve seen before but have no particular connection to, but the first name was that of casting queen and frequent most valuable player, Mary Vernieu. if you want an ensemble to make you smile and catch you by surprise, but somehow make the most perfect sense ever, you need Queen Mary, end of discussion.
verdict: The Fall Guy has never seen a wall it didn’t want to crash through, and it should be illegal to make film-making look like this much effortless fun. action cinema is already having a stellar year, and this celebration of the tricks and hits – and brave maniacs – involved is a real cherry on top.
director David Leitch // writer Drew Pearce (based on the tv series created by Glen A Larson) // release 02/05/24
onedottoomany 