The Fall Guy (2024) | Film Review

(First viewing via VOD) - Colt Seavers is a stuntman on big budget Hollywood productions. Doubling for Hollywood A-lister, Tom Ryder, and endlessly flirting with camera woman, Jody Moreno, Colt really has it all: His dream job, and his dream girl. But after a horrible on set accident breaks his back and his spirit, he walks away from it all resigning himself to a life of car parking at a nice family owned restaurant. That is until he gets a call asking him to return to action to save his dream girl’s directorial debut.

David Leitch’s The Fall Guy is an action packed amusement park ride of a film. It’s also a love letter to Hollywood stunt people who make the action we love to watch possible. His film blends the world of cinematic action, and real life action flawlessly, with many of the stunts happening as the story plays out being more incredible than those within the fictional movie within the movie, Metalstorm. Leitch goes out of his way within The Fall Guy to call out Hollywood for its lack of recognition toward stunt workers, and I got to say, he makes a great case.

Ryan Gosling shines as Colt Seavers. Colt oozes charm with every scene, and his chemistry with Emily Blunt’s Jody is magical. Despite his leading man looks, Gosling possesses the rare quality of being able to come across as an every man, which makes you (or at least me) want to root for him when the chips are down. Blunt is equally charming in her role as first time director desperate to get her movie made, yet also struggling to overcome her lost relationship with Colt. Their banter makes for great breaks in the action.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is hilarious as Tom Ryder, the prototypical Hollywood A-lister who attempts to hide his crippling self esteem issues by overcompensating with manufactured machismo. The rest of the cast made up of Hannah Waddingham (as producer Gail Meyer) and Winston Duke (as stunt coordinator Dan Tucker) help round out the main players with great character moments. Gail is wonderfully manic, and Dan’s constant string of movie references are fun for wannabe movie buffs like me.

While the main plot of the film is a bit contrived, the journey through it all is fun, fast-paced, and smashes its way to a satisfying conclusion. Despite running just over two hours, I never felt the films length. This is an incredibly well made big budget popcorn flick that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys a good time. The Fall Guy is one of the most enjoyable films I’ve seen all year.