The kind of Hollywood productions designed to entertain above all else. A movie where no need to take notes but “The Fall Guy” is just to entertain. It wants to put the blinding star power of two of the industry’s most charismatic leads in fun, romantic situations and see what happens. It wants to remind viewers of a time when stunt work mattered more than it does in the CGI era, and embrace the team aspect of filmmaking in a manner that’s infectious and, well, wildly entertaining. This is a ridiculously fun movie, anchored by a movie star in a part that fits him perfectly and a director who really has been working toward this film for his entire career.
David Leitch started as a stunt double, working with actors like Brad Pitt, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Matt Damon, and many more. His directorial debut was a little film called “John Wick,” and he parlayed that success into films like “Atomic Blonde” and “Bullet Train.” He returns to his roots in “The Fall Guy,” inspired by the Lee Majors show of the same name about a Hollywood stuntman who happened to also be a bounty hunter. Little narrative DNA is shared with the show beyond a profession and a name, but the 2024 “The Fall Guy” does have the general tone of ‘80s television in the way it blends a bit of humor, romance, mystery, and action into the mix, willing to drop references to the action stars that inspired it while also carving out its own personality.
“The Fall Guy” is very much about the people behind the scenes of the movie industry, but it’s almost more of an ode to the era of the movie star when a performer could hold a viewer over any narrative speed bump. Mostly for the better, Hollywood shifted to a story-and concept-driven approach to moviemaking, but Leitch and the team behind “The Fall Guy” clearly remember when a superstar who was both sexy and funny—think Burt Reynolds at his peak—could be more than enough. Gosling has that easy-going charm.
Colt is introduced on set as the double to a diva action star named Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, doing enough of a blend between Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and even Matthew McConaughey that he seems right without ever feeling like he’s specifically ripping on one actor). When a fall goes horribly wrong, Colt is sidelined for 18 months, leaving behind his girlfriend Jody (Emily Blunt), and maybe the industry for good.
When Jody’s producer Gail (Hannah Wadding Ham) comes to Colt to beg him to double Ryder again on the set of Jody’s directorial debut, Colt relents.
The first act of “The Fall Guy” basically plays like a romantic comedy as Jody berates Colt for running from their relationship after his accident in a great scene in front of a lot of cast and crew—it feels like a reminder of how little privacy there is on a movie set—and then the script by Drew Pearce pivots into mystery and action when Ryder goes missing. Winston Duke, Stephanie Hsu, Teresa Palmer, and a French-speaking action dog round out a great cast. More needle drops from the era of the show, including recurring use of the very recognizable riff of “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” by KISS, feel like a nod to both the era of the original series and when they made more action-rom- coms like this in Hollywood.
With a message that should resonate with anyone worried about AI and deep fakes, “The Fall Guy” feels like a pushback against all the CGI-heavy, character-less, humorless blockbusters that have been coming off the content production line over the last few years. It’s actively—and its detractors would likely argue too aggressively—trying to simply provide ticket buyers with what too often feels like a secondary concern in big movies lately fun.