Give me any movie with Emily Blunt in it and I'll watch it with relish! I found this captivating reboot of the 80s action TV series, The Fall Guy featuring this star actress and Ryan Gosling and I was impressed with how it turned out. Often we watch films and have crushes on the star actors because of the risky moves and stunts, forgetting that there are people behind the scenes actually doing these stunts.
In this action comedy directed by David Leitch, who was formerly a stunt double for famous actors like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Matt Damon and others, he makes the stuntman the focus and hero of the film. In my opinion, that's a fresh perspective for the industry—shining the light on the people behind the scenes.
Back to The Fall Guy (2024), Ryan Gosling (aka Colt Seavers) plays the role of an unbreakable stuntman for a conceited star actor, Tom Ryder (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who often boasts of doing his own stunts. He's also in a passionate relationship with a camerawoman, Jody Moreno (played by Emily Blunt). An accident happens on set that leads to a change of career for Colt.
Months later, the movie director tricks Colt back to set under the guise that Jody wants him there for her first film as a director. He arrives on set and is roped into finding Tom Ryder who's been absent for some days. On this mission, Colt shockingly finds a dead body buried in ice in a hotel room and Ryder's phone containing damning evidence. That's when some mean-looking goons with real guns come after him. How will Colt convince Jody and their audience that he isn't a murderer?
Review
The poster of this film won't give you an idea of what the plot is all about until you start to watch it or the trailer. The plot is refreshingly interesting and the storytelling fantastically delivers what it's like working on a sci-fi set. It's funny, intriguing and action-packed. The focus is on Ryan Gosling's character and his romance with Emily Blunt's character. It's not all crashes, leaps and blasts; there are swooning moments between the star leads and it's convincing.
One cool aspect of this film is that the audience gets to see how the tricks are done such as digital face replacements, fancy cutting, and doubles shown only from behind. I already knew about this part of filming but witnessing it is eye-opening and exciting. Ryan Gosling impressively pulls off his stunt character. He amazes us with his strength and agility as a stuntman while shining as the star actor of the film and at the end of the day, he still gets the girl.
Another cool aspect is seeing a director in action (forgive people like me who have no connection whatsoever with the entertainment industry). Emily Blunt also excellently embodies her character to a convincing point. Her chemistry with Ryan Gosling is seamless and believable such that I keep reminding myself that this is a film and the actors are happily married to different people in real life!
The selection of supporting actors like Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Teresa Palmer and a French-speaking German shepherd dog adds more colour and fun to the film. One actor I didn't expect to see in the film was Jason Momoa. Yep, he's in this though uncredited. You'll have to see this film to know the role he played.
The settings and visuals are great, after all it's a movie within a movie. We are reminded that stunt work matters more than the AI and CGI era that we are in now. I don't know how the stunt people do all the risky work and get no credit but this film makes me appreciate them more.
Overall, The Fall Guy is an entertaining and action-packed film that is worth watching. Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling radiate the charisma and win the hearts of the audience again. I'll give it 4 stars out of 5.
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Other images are screenshots from the movie
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