The Fall Guy: A Film Tribute to Stunt Work
Wed 13 Mar 2024 14.30 CET
First Look Review
Two fantastic movie star turns lead this loving and supremely entertaining ode to stunt work based on the 80s TV series
Before The Fall Guy even premiered at the SXSW film festival on Tuesday, there were boos in the audience – not for the film or stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, all staggeringly delightful, but for a preview of the festival’s tech conference, touting the promise of AI as a “great equalizer” that makes us “more human”. (Lol.)
A Joyful Testament to Stunt Work
The Fall Guy, based on the 80s TV series, is an utterly charming, unpretentious rebuttal to the encroachment of digital effects in life and film. It’s a celebration of blockbuster movies and their illusions of grandeur made by dozens and dozens of people working in concert, mostly below the line, and specifically the underappreciated work of stunt doubles. It’s also just a consistently good time, two hours of zingers with impeccable timing, two bona fide movie stars with palpable chemistry, several enjoyably meta send-ups of the business and, of course, plenty of crazy stunts.
A Blockbuster with a Big Heart
Gosling, newly minted Oscars pop star and certified charm machine, is in peak comedy leading man form as Colt Seavers, a movie stunt veteran sidelined by an on-set injury that derailed his confidence. Jaded and hiding out in LA as a valet for a Mexican restaurant, Colt is reluctantly called back into action by big-time producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) for the beleaguered Australian shoot of Metalstorm, a Comic-Con aiming sci-fi flick.
A Riveting Plot and Thrilling Stunts
Leitch, a stuntman for over 20 years (at one point doubling for Brad Pitt) guides the film with a clear affection for movie sets and expertise in the trade. The Fall Guy offers an enjoyable exhibit of the stunt staples: pyrotechnics, rigging, trained dogs, car chases, car crashes, dummy weapons, fight choreography and more, all seamlessly blended into the fun-dumb story of Metalstorm, a loving parody of Cowboys & Aliens and Dune.
A Captivating Cinematic Experience
It’s all a fizzy, funny, convincingly romantic delight, a tribute to the craft of making big movies with big stunts that is heartfelt in its appreciation without taking itself too seriously. The Fall Guy capably celebrates the sometimes literal heights reached on the big screen in the name of mass entertainment, and is right up there with the best of them.
