Directed by:
David LeitchScreenplay:
Drew PearceCinematography:
Jonathan SelaComposer:
Dominic LewisCast:
Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, Teresa Palmer, Ben Knight, Matuse, Adam Dunn, Zara Michales (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
He’s a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right? (Universal Pictures US)
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Reviews (12)
Better than Dune! Excellent, imaginative, romantic comedy with polished action and filmed with incredible flair. David Leitch reminisces about his stunt years and inspires lots of little kids to get punched, smashed and knocked down, then deepfake them into the star of the film. Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys mode and Emily Blunt in superwoman mode are having an incredible time, and the chemistry is conjuring unicorns before your eyes.
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A love letter to the stunt profession, written in genuine script and sealed in an envelope adorned with cute stickers of Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, and a dog that bites on command. It's a pity that the romance, humor, and attempt to build a meaningful story were nothing more than kitschy postcards that deserved to be shredded. The soundtrack, featuring Kiss and The Darkness, works well. The final '80s hellscape about the strength of the stunt community, with its unwelcome excessiveness, somewhat drags through David Leitch's love letter. Guy Gosling's performance felt a bit out of place; perhaps an unknown stunt performer could have taken the role, maintaining authenticity and saving 12 million dollars plus a little extra for the stunt doubles.
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Ryan Gosling is the action hero that modern masculinity needs, and this film is a magnificent culmination of the roles that he has played so far and his image. Instead of bombastic macho tough guys, here we have a guy who can handle wild physical challenges, but he also knows how to come to grips with his emotions (even if it’s only by listening to plaintive songs in his car) and can be sensitive, supportive and friendly towards others while taking himself with a sense of detached humour. And on top of that, he’s also both hot and adorable. In addition, The Fall Guy offers up a bombastic tribute to stunt work that comprises a grand culmination of the work done by the stunt and choreography group 87eleven, or rather its production division, 87North. Besides the trademark style of fight choreography, the filmmakers fortunately focused primarily on the logistically more challenging aspects of stunt work with automobiles, explosions and collisions, and every possible kind of fall, which they execute not only for the camera, but also for the narrative. All of this is done mainly with the aim of lobbying for the rectification of the nonsensical neglect of stuntpeople at the hands of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (However, it could possibly be argued that the Academy doesn’t overlook stuntpeople because it would want to somehow draw attention away from the behind-the-scenes magic of film, but solely because most members of the Academy don’t understand the industry and the results of voting would correspond to that, as is the case with the animation category.) In light of all of that, The Fall Guy also works as a refreshingly exaggerated romantic comedy that takes the female point of view rather than the usual male perspective. Though it’s true that the film is somewhat handicapped by the uneven screenplay and exceedingly obvious utilitarianism of the individual peripeteias, which serve as an excuse for staging particular bits of choreography, this is offset by the fact that the filmmakers know how to shoot everything with maximum effectiveness and entertainment value, which is not true of the film’s spiritual ancestor, Hooper (1976), by the first stuntman-turned-director, Hal Needham.
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If you're going to make an unpretentious action comedy, this is how you do it. Putting aside the most questionable thing – the crime plot at the heart of the film is very simple and silly, but it's not really the point, the whole thing is pulled along by both the action-packed stunt attractions, but mostly by the charisma of the two leads. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt work great together, they have visible chemistry and their verbal banter at times almost makes you think of classic screwball romantic comedies. It's actually a nice love letter from Drew Pearce and David Leitch to all the stuntmen, the "invisible" crew members and filmmaking in general, and the idyllic romanticization of the whole creative process without a single hint of cynicism works very well for the audience.
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The Fall Guy is pure cinematic entertainment. The concept is based on the eponymous 80s series, so today's film nostalgically nods to the aesthetics of that time. The film within the film that the crew is shooting seems straight out of the era's sci-fi Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn. Nonetheless, today's experience richly benefits from the entire mixture, offering a kind backstage glimpse, the hyped charisma of Ryan Gosling (seriously, who has a bigger sexy credit today, Ryan or Jason Momoa?), and an insider's view of formal jokes, where even editing, montage, and the whole mise-en-scène react to pop culture references in the dialogue. For cinephiles, it's a fully satisfying experience, but even those viewers who don't catch half of the references can still enjoy it.
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