The Fall Guy (2024)

 

 

Movie Name/Year: The Fall Guy (2024)

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance

Length: 2h 6min

Rating: PG-13

Director: David Leitch

Writers: Drew Pearce, Glen A. Larson

Based On: The Fall Guy (1981-19686)

Actors: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke, Ben Knight, Matuse Matuse, Adam Dunn, Zara Michales, Ioane Saula, Gregory J. Fryer, Madeleine Wilson, Kalkidan China, Angela Nica Sullen, Di Smith, Megan O'Connell, Jack Doherty, Tony Lynch, Georgia Nottage, David Collins, Semu Filipo, Andrew Owen, Dan Reardon, Marky Lee Campbell, Chris Matheson, Ben Gerrard, Lee Majors

 

IMDb Blurb: A stuntman, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, 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?

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

Where do I even begin? Action movies have been a life-long love of mine. I adore many genres, but action always stays near the top of the list. If a movie can get my heart beating faster from a vicarious adrenaline rush, I am all about it. Dramatic action is also great, but comedic action also provides amazingly entertaining and fun experiences. The Fall Guy was one such movie.

 

I was eager to watch from the moment I first saw the trailer for The Fall Guy – and it would have been my #1 pick for May 2024's Top 20 List if not for going head to head with a Ryan Reynolds (Free Guy, IF, Deadpool & Wolverine) movie. (Sorry The Fall Guy, but can you blame me?)

 

 

I haven't been able to make it to the theater to watch this production, so I was excited to be able to share this experience at home with my family through an On-Demand rental. Worth. Every. Penny.

 

We laughed and enjoyed this thrill ride as it gave a live-action love letter to the stunt profession. The story was fun and meta in a movie-about-making-a-movie sort of way. The romance elements didn't feel contrived, and (as expected) the stunt-work was unbelievably awesome. Seriously though, this movie actually, legitimately set a GuinnessWorld Record during production.

 

 

Ryan Gosling (La La Land, The Gray Man, Barbie) was a fantastic choice to play Colt Seavers. The Fall Guy has been in development for well over a decade and many leading men have come and gone from this film while still “at the drawing board.” I think the end-product we got was just right and highlighted Gosling's talent with multiple genres with the action sequences, his comedic timing and marvelous banter, as well as the spark of the romance angle. Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place, Oppenheimer, IF) is one of my favorite leading ladies, as well. Their chemistry was great and it was a treat to see her in a movie where she got to let loose a bit more than the usual dramatic performances we see her in. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Tenet, The King's Man, Bullet Train) was also phenomenal as the AWOL actor, Tom Ryder, who Gosling's Seavers has to track down in order to save the movie they're working on. It was inherently easy to believe that Gosling could fit as a double for Taylor-Johnson. There are more reasons he works well with this story, but I don't want to slip into spoilers. I can say that he was responsible for one of the most hilarious Easter Eggs ever.

 

 

The whole production was stacked with talent, really. Of course, with a movie about stunt performers, you'd expect the stunt-work to be well done. I was not disappointed. There were some absolutely bonkers stunts within The Fall Guy. I love that this film pushes them into the spotlight, as they're often overlooked because of the background nature of what they do. I think the Academy Awards alleged excuse that giving the Stunts category Oscars would make an already long show too much longer is rather lame. These performers can make or break a whole movie and deserve more of the fanfare when things go right. I digress...

 

 

The rest of the core production team were nothing to sneeze at, either. Director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train) has been firing on all cylinders of late and I think he's really hit his sweet spot with the action-comedy blend. Further, I think that Drew Pearce (Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation, Hotel Artemis, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw) did a great job in adapting the concept from The Fall Guy (1981-1986) TV series. While I don't remember watching that particular show when I was younger, its original writer and creator, Glen A. Larson(1937-2014), was responsible for creating and/or writing some of my favorite shows of all time such as: Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1981), Knight Rider (1982-1986), and Magnum P.I. (1980-1988).

 

While a sequel has not yet been confirmed, there's quite a lot of material out there and available to draw from between the 112 episodes of the series and the challenges of the modern stunt profession. I would absolutely enjoy taking this ride for a second time or more.

 

My family and I really had a lot of fun watching The Fall Guy, and if these genres, actors, or production team interest you then it will probably be an entertaining experience for you too.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 82%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –86%

Metascore – 73%

Metacritic User Score – 6.8/10

IMDB Score – 6.9/10

 

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5

 

P.S. - There is a mid-credits scene with behind-the-scenes footage and a look at the stunt-work done for the film as a tribute to the stunt community.

 

Movie Trailer: