David R. Walker

The Fall Guy

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke, Ben Knight, Adam Dunn

Running Time: 2 hours and 6 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Stuntmen never get that much credit. All those car chase sequences and falling out of windows and only the main action star gets his name in lights.

This disparity between film star and stunt man is brilliantly explored with a heavy dose of loud music, lots of stunts and energising entertainment in Bullet Train director David Leitch’s new film The Fall Guy bringing together Barbie star Ryan Gosling and Oppenheimer star Emily Blunt, both of which were Oscar nominated for those films.

Gosling and Blunt make a great onscreen couple all blond hair, blue eyes and perfect teeth but it is really Ryan Gosling who steals the film as the hapless but courageous stunt man Colt Seavers who accidentally stumbles upon a plot to cover up an accidental death on a big budget Hollywood Sci fi film being shot on location in Sydney, Australia.

Emily Blunt plays the no-nonsense aspiring film director Jody Moreno who is frantically trying to complete a huge star studded big budget film about a battle between cowboys and aliens. Moreno’s hard edged menacing producer Gail Meyer wonderfully played by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham who is trying to keep the studio off their back while secretly trying to find out where the main action star really is.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals, Kick-Ass, Tenet) plays the macho big action star Tom Ryder, who is basically a poster boy for toxic masculinity, recklessness and an ego gone wild. Ryder and Seavers do not get along, although when both dressed as space cowboys they look identical so kudos to the casting director, who managed to get Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ryan Gosling together.

The Fall Guy with its cinematic self-reflexive narrative is filled with lots of noisy action sequences and multiple scenes of Ryan Gosling getting shot at, beaten up or falling off buildings. A notable scene is the garbage truck fight sequence through the pristine streets of Sydney between Gosling and henchman with a man bun Dressler played by Australian actor Ben Knight. Another Australian star Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge, Point Break) makes a memorable appearance as Tom Ryder’s volatile girlfriend Iggy Star.

While parts of The Fall Guy are very over the top, it is Ryan Gosling’s lovable star persona which saves The Fall Guy from being just another action film as he imbues each scene with a hint of goofy sexiness and almost naiveté. Gosling’s version of Colt Seavers is relatable and funny, mad and mischievous, a remarkable tribute to the stunt men in the film industry as alluded to in the original 1980’s TV series of the same name starring a young Lee Majors.

Although the storyline is weak, The Fall Guy is recommended viewing as an entertaining popcorn film with some outlandish action scenes cleverly making use of its Australian location, while the film’s hero discovers a deep fake Sydney style.

See The Fall Guy for Gosling, some explosive action sequences and a surprising cameo at the end.

The Fall Guy gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is loud and crazy like Colt Seavers and his outlandish outfits from neon to space cowboy. See it at a cinema near you.

Please note all images used courtesy of Universal Pictures approved images. UPI Media

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