Loosely based on the 1980s series of the same name, former stuntman Director David Leitsch crafts a fitting comedic homage to the history of stunt choreography (and set a world record while doing it).
The Fall Guy
Directed by David Leitsch
Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Teresa Palmer
Runtime: 2 hours, 6 mins
Synopsis
Stuntman Colt Seavers (Gosling) returns to stunt work after a freak accident nearly took his life but is thrown into the fire as his former fling Jody (Blunt) is directing his next project and the lead actor Tom Ryder (Taylor-Johnson) has gone missing. Tasked to retrieve him by his publicist Gail (Waddingham), Colt quickly discovers that returning to cinema and pursuing his missed chance with Jody is more complicated and deadly than he could have imagined.
The Stuntman to Director Pipeline
If you had told me a few years ago that stuntmen would turn into directors and not only that, they would create some fantastic films, I would have told you that was crazy. And yet, when I think back through history, we have some examples of this, with martial arts icon Bruce Lee being successful in their directorial debut Way of the Dragon (1972) and recent success with the John Wick franchise, helmed by Keanu Reeve’s former stunt double Chad Stahelski. Don’t get me wrong, there are still terrible films in the mix as well, but it makes sense why stuntmen and stunt coordinators can be great candidates for the director chair. They have an intimate understanding of blocking, creating a scene and action set pieces, working closely with the director and cinematographer to achieve the effect they want, and they have experience working with large portions of the cast and crew. If the only thing they need experience with is story development, execution, and managing other departments of the production, they could easily fit in this role.
Credit: Universal Pictures
David Leitsch has shown this capacity with Atomic Blonde (2017) and Bullet Train (2022), the latter being one of the better-written, comedic-driven action films in the past few years. Train was tightly put together while also being over-the-top, with a great blend of practical and CGI elements. When it comes to Fall Guy, many of those same strengths carry over as Colt is running around Sydney, Australia, avoiding hitmen and gang members while trying to figure out what happened to Tom Ryder. Though the ride is never overwhelming, Leitsch does keep the pressure on and weaves plenty of action set pieces in every act, increasing in complexity and difficulty until we get to the final act. Some of the film’s best, most comedic moments happen in the course of these
Stunted Comedic Moments
The major failing of this film is that the comedy doesn’t consistently come together. I’ve discussed in reviews before that I can’t stand the modern trend of comedic stream of consciousness because it mostly relies on actor improvisation and/or awkwardness, and that can only be funny for so long before it gets repetitive and annoying. It sorely lacks in joke setup and development, which grinds the energy of the movie to a halt, there’s no springboard to the next setup or scene.
When Colt and Jody (Blunt) reunite for the first time since his accident, we’re treated to one of these exchanges where they just trying desperately to lob anything funny at one another, and it simply doesn’t work. When we finally get to a joke that would have been hilarious, you’re just exhausted and want it to end. To be clear, this movie is funny, and they do set up jokes elsewhere. However, these moments were just a drag and took me out of the experience, which is a true shame because Gosling and Blunt have great chemistry together, but it’s mired in mediocre comedy writing or relies on the ad-lib way too much.
Credit: Universal Pictures
This is one reason that I thoroughly enjoyed Zak Olkewicz’s screenplay for Train, it avoided this trap along with teasing multiple setups and paying them all off throughout the film. The jokes were well set up, and there were none of these momentum-breaking comedic ad-libs between the characters. I thought Fall Guy writer Drew Pearce’s inexperience could have been a blessing; however, it’s possible that it led him to borrow from recent, poorly constructed comedic trends. To Pierce’s credit, though, his time working with Shane Black definitely paid off as this screenplay certainly feels or harkens back to Black’s action stylings –who’s scripts include: Lethal Weapon (1987), Last Action Hero (1993), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), and another Gosling vehicle The Nice Guys (2016). While it’s certainly not a rip-off of Black’s style, several elements easily harken back to his darker slapstick energy.
Conclusion / Recommendation
Fall Guy has enough energy and eye-popping sequences to make an impact among modern action movies, but its failure in cleanly mixing its action, romantic, and comedic elements keeps it from being an instant classic.
Fall Guy is definitely a film you’ll enjoy on the big screen to catch all the setpieces, but if you’re watching at home, maybe have a friend or two over. My screening wasn’t laughing at the longer, comedic ad-lib spots, so maybe your mileage will vary.
Score: 7 out of 10
- Spectacular Action- 9
- This film takes so many wishlist stunts and combines them into a cohesive, enjoyable romp and does a fantastic job honoring the stunt community in the process.
- Stiff Romantic and Comedic Moments- 7
- Gosling and Blunt have chemistry on screen, but you wouldn’t know it with this script or how they are forced to interact with one another. If you’re looking for Romancing the Stone (1984) with stunt drivers, this isn’t it.
- Pretty Standard Plot- 5
- It’s fine if the plot is a bit overstuffed when you can deliver and Leitsch’s previous project, Bullet Train, was more cohesive and easier to follow than the final act shenanigans and overall twists and turns presented here.
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