Before he became a coveted Hollywood director, David Leitch was a stuntman. It’s probably why his films, from the first John Wick to other thrill rides like Atomic Blonde and Bullet Train, are revered for their incredible stunts; a true professional was behind it all. He’s made such a name for himself as a leader in the craft that he helped direct an ode to stunt performers at this year’s Academy Awards –– yet the war for a stunts category at the ceremony wages on.
As it turns out, that segment wasn’t his most definitive tribute to the art of stunts, nor was it his actual contribution to making the category a reality. Both of these distinctions actually belong to The Fall Guy, Leitch’s latest directorial effort, a rom-com action thriller that plays as a love letter to not only stuntpeople but all of the unsung crew members that help the Hollywood engine keep chugging along. Despite feeling a tad overstuffed, it’s this beating heart that makes Fall Guy one of Leitch’s best films.
Ryan Gosling is back with his goofy comedic stylings as Colt Seavers, a stuntman for crème-de-la-crème action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Following an on-set injury that takes him out of the game, Seavers is set on retiring for good. However, 18 months later, Ryder suddenly goes missing; Seavers is called back into action, if only to help his former lover and the blockbuster’s director, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). As he searches for Ryder, Seavers unearths an industry scandal that puts him at odds with militant forces above his pay grade. Oh, how ever will he get his way out of this one?
The answer? Stunting his way to victory. Plenty will go into Fall Guy wanting an action spectacle, which they’ll get – Leitch and stunt coordinator Keir Beck have really outdone themselves in terms of sheer multitude, executing everything from gunfights to boat chases to even a heavily choreographed helicopter brawl – but what audiences may not expect is how much all of this action informs the storytelling. It may seem like an obvious conceit, but watching a stuntman overcome the cutthroat industry machine (heavily dramatized but metaphorical nonetheless) by doing what he was born to do gives the film’s redemption story an unexpected thematic heft.
Several other characters, from Seavers’ stunt coordinator (Winston Duke) to Ryder’s assistant (Stephanie Hsu), get a chance to kick some ass too, making the entire crew the protagonists of this story. It all culminates in a stunning climax that turns a day on set into a rousing action setpiece. To spoil how deep the well goes would be diving into spoilers, but this approach makes for a spirited blockbuster that gives due diligence to the off-camera talent that makes them possible. There are plenty of movies about movies, but few are anchored in such admirable intentions that feel this thoroughly realized in the fabric of the story.
That said, it is still a movie about movies, specifically a lowercase-F farce on modern movie-making that is as indebted to Hollywood as it is ready to poke holes in it. Many of the film’s funniest moments come from industry jabs (one recurring line about Hall H is bound to get some laughs), but the film is laced with a spirit that so badly wants to recapture the classic romantic actioners of the 70s and 80s. One extended sequence features Colt and Jody in a split-screen dissecting how to make their screenplay’s love story hit harder, clearly a nod to the love-to-hate-it rom-com trope. It’s funny at first, but quickly becomes indulgent to the point of screeching the film’s momentum to a halt.
That is the main issue holding Leitch’s film back from reaching maximum velocity: it’s too ambitious. Initially, The Fall Guy attempts to balance both its love story and its crime story by simply going back and forth scene by scene. For obvious reasons, this only makes for a choppy tonal experience. Leitch eventually opts to crosscut between the two; one memorable sequence has Colt fending off a grunt while gliding across the road in the back of a truck while Jody…sings karaoke. It’s all done for effect, but the editing is so sloppy and incohesive that it never feels like they actually function as one sequence.
By the end, Leitch successfully synthesizes the two mindsets with the aforementioned killer climax. However, even through its rough patches, it’s hard to complain when your film is being buoyed by a cast this strong. Following his Oscar-nominated Kenergy in Barbie, Gosling continues to prove his comedic genius in another role that plays to the strengths of his persona. Colt is another goofy but lovable protagonist – think The Nice Guys but hotter – and Gosling perfectly fits into this archetype with charm and heart. Blunt is similarly fun in her role; she surprisingly plays a film director with great authenticity, but not without a quietness that elevates her romance with Gosling.
Perhaps the most exciting part of The Fall Guy is its unabashed love for love stories and its refusal to overthink its own merits. Sure, it is imperfect in construction, but the story is a compelling enough mystery on its own to get the audience invested. It’s the heartfelt romance that ultimately feeds the larger thrills of the action, giving The Fall Guy an especially lovable edge against countless other cynical big-budget blockbusters. It never attempts to grandstand its own importance, nor dilutes its sensibilities with irony or overt crassness. It is simply an impassioned ode to stuntpeople, love stories, and the emotional highs of a good ol’ Hollywood picture.
The Fall Guy held its World Premiere as part of the Headliners section of the 2024 SXSW TV & Film Festival. The film will be released in theaters nationwide on May 3, 2024, courtesy of Universal Pictures.
Director: David Leitch
Screenwriter: Drew Pearce
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 125m
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7jPnwVGdZ8]
Though imperfectly structured, there’s no denying the thrills that David Leitch and Ryan Gosling provide in their ode stunt performers and the emotional highs of Hollywood.
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Larry Fried is a filmmaker, writer, and podcaster based in New Jersey. He is the host and creator of the podcast “My Favorite Movie is…,” a podcast dedicated to helping filmmakers make somebody’s next favorite movie. He is also the Visual Content Manager for Special Olympics New Jersey, an organization dedicated to competition and training opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities across the Garden State.
