Film Review: THE FALL GUY (2024): Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt Have Chemistry but Not Enough Sizzle to Make This Action Movie a “Go”

The Fall Guy Review

The Fall Guy (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by David Leitch, written by Drew Pearce and Glen A. Larson and starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke, Ben Knight, Matuse, Adam Dunn, Zara Michales, Angela Nica Sullen and Megan O’Connell.

When you have two big stars like Oscar nominees Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, you could probably let them run around and do whatever they wanted on-screen and it would work. Well, not quite, actually, as The Fall Guy proves. The Fall Guy is these two stars’ big new action project and it’s directed by a capable action director, David Leitch (Bullet Train), but the film’s lack of a credible story line undermines the whole concept of the picture as a whole. When they say “check your brain at the counter and have a good time” before a movie, they haven’t experienced the sheer stupidity of the story line featured in The Fall Guy. Be that as it might, Gosling and Blunt have some truly entertaining moments in Leitch’s movie even if you probably won’t buy their on-screen romance in the film for a minute.

The plot is the weakest aspect of Leitch’s film and to the director’s credit, he didn’t write it. The story line goes off on weird tangents that make it feel as if the writers are trying too hard. “Keep it simple” would have been the best advice to those involved with the production of The Fall Guy but, alas, the filmmakers had different plans. The new movie reminds me a bit of a film from years back– one which was not a love story and starred Michael J. Fox. It was called The Hard Way where a movie star becomes embroiled in a real-life dangerous situation. The Hard Way was a much better picture and that’s because it knew Hollywood really well. The Fall Guy knows stunts like the back of its hand, true, but the Hollywood the movie showcases feels stale, almost like it’s from a time that has long passed.

Gosling is featured in the movie as Colt Seavers, a stuntman who has been wronged in more ways than one. Colt does a risky stunt as the film begins which ends up putting him out of commission. Blunt is an aspiring female director who is often seen in a big hat named Jody Moreno who had a steamy affair with Colt on the set of the movie that Colt got severely injured while working on. Supposedly, someone important in the production of the film, Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) ends up suggesting that Colt come back and work on a new project that Jody is making.

The Fall Guy expects us to believe that a studio would make a film like the one Jody is enlisted to direct. No studio would rightfully invest in a movie which appears to be a Western with aliens running around. The whole movie within the movie is the film’s major fault. It’s not the least bit credible that such a dumb project would get green-lighted. Tom Ryder (an O.K. Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is the star of this fiasco of a production (that supposedly impresses people in the film industry) and the actor who Colt does stunts for. When Tom goes missing, the mystery of the story begins. The suspense starts with a sword-wielding female movie star named Iggy (Teresa Palmer) and leads to countless plot twists, none of which the viewer will see coming because they are so inane. Each twist is more preposterous than the previous one. But, the film within a film that is being made is the worst part of it all.

The supporting cast mostly disappoints. Waddingham is underused and only occasionally interesting in an underwritten role. Matuse, as Doone– a guy with a tattooed head who sprinkles something dire in Colt’s Shirley Temple drink, overacts and underacts in his brief role. Winston Duke is sadly underused in a role that makes one wish more people saw his great work in Nine Days. You may just forget Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu’s brief appearance in the new picture before the end credits come up. If you can’t figure out who the key bad guy (or girl) is going to be here, you should immediately feel ashamed of yourself.

What’s good about The Fall Guy is that it loves stuntmen who are, without a doubt, underappreciated in the world of Hollywood. The film shows the lengths they’ll go to get a scene right. Also strong is Blunt and Gosling’s on-screen rapport which makes one feel as if they’re best friends hanging out. But, as lovers, their romance falls off the screen even though fans of the stars could buy their chemistry which is there– it just feels like they’re more friends than lovers.

I really enjoyed a split-screen scene in this picture where Gosling and Blunt argue about Julia Roberts movies on opposite ends of the phone. Blunt’s character likes Notting Hill but Gosling’s character knows Pretty Woman much better and the confusion faced in the conversation is both humorous and proof why these two characters could never hit it off as lovers.

The Fall Guy throws in every possible twist to try to keep the audience following the plot and being surprised. The story line employed here is simply not intelligent enough to warrant the cast and director that have been assembled to make the film. However, stuntmen are important in Hollywood and the film does show us a behind-the-scenes look at what they do which makes me have a bit of a fondness for this new picture. It’s not quite worth seeing in theaters but, as a streaming film, you may want to see Gosling and Blunt bicker and argue their way to a romance while stuntmen are held in the highest regard throughout. The Fall Guy is ultimately a fall from grace for Blunt and Gosling but there are moments which will make it occasionally interesting for their fans.

Rating: 6/10

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