The Fall Guy (2024)

May 2, 2024 10:03 PM

Fresh off an almost career-ending accident, stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) has to track down a missing movie star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life (Emily Blunt) while still doing his day job.

Blunt and Gosling have such effortless movie-star charm and chemistry that it's a pity the script and non-action directing aren't really up to their level. But it's a good enough time, with some classic 80s DNA that makes it feel comfortable to Gen X and up, plus a good boy who does not come to any harm whatsoever.

posted by praemunire (9 comments total)

I thought it was fantastically ridiculous, in all the best ways. It was great! 👍
posted by Pryde at 7:30 PM on May 3 [1 favorite]

You're never going to see me claiming I don't enjoy a movie in which a battered-up Ryan Gosling is still starry-eyed over his amazing professional-artist ex-girlfriend, but I think Leitch decides a script is good enough about two revisions too soon, and he's not really great about directing stand-alone comedy bits, either. So you get these spaces in some of his films where he's built up some goodwill and the viewer is ready to go with it but the banter is still in the "[insert witty comment here]" stage and the pacing isn't quite right and thus they end up being vacuums.

Bizarrely, for previews this film got both the red-band (!!!) trailer of Maxxxine and...Despicable Me 4, which shows that the studio isn't at all sure who the audience for this film is.
posted by praemunire at 9:38 PM on May 3 [1 favorite]

I had a good time watching this. I struggle with Tarantino movies because I feel like every scene is smashing me over the head with "THIS IS AN HOMAGE AND IF YOU DON'T GET IT YOU DON'T LOVE MOVIES" and this movie had a lot of moments that were doing the same thing except they were actually fun.

I assumed the whole insert witty line thing was because Gosling's character is speaking in lines from other movies. They do the bit where Duke's character says a line and Gosling guesses it and they even have Gosling say "did I make that up or is it from a movie?" at one point.

I think a rewatch will uncover that most of this movie is one long movie-making joke. When they're talking about too much "face" and how Gosling's jaw is different than ATJ's a few moments later there's a stunt where you can clearly see it's not Gosling's jaw.

All said it was fun and I hope it does well enough and studios will greenlight some more non-franchise actioners.
posted by M Edward at 10:19 AM on May 4 [2 favorites]

this movie had a lot of moments that were doing the same thing except they were actually fun

Very true! When the Miami Vice theme kicked in during the harbor chase, I giggled (and wondered how many under 40 got the joke/reference).

I didn't mind the action-movie quotes, and I laughed out loud at Winston Duke bellowing "DWAYNE...'THE ROCK'...JOHNSON!" as he flipped his opponent over the kitchen island...that was all very cute. It was more the banter, and the direction of said banter. The scene where Blunt sets Gosling on fire repeatedly because of "technical mistakes" didn't quite seem to know where to land. The material seemed to call for a gleeful over-the-top approach but because Blunt was playing it a little too sincere and vulnerable too early it actually felt a little sad, almost embarrassing for her.
posted by praemunire at 11:46 AM on May 4

I just think it's nice that the effects team didn't quite use up all of the pyros for the big crew vs goons fight and saved a few small ones for the kiss at the end..
posted by ckape at 6:50 PM on May 4 [1 favorite]

Please. They're professionals.
posted by praemunire at 8:06 PM on May 4

I need to point out for the benefit of The Youth that this is an adaptation of the 80s TV series starring Lee Majors.
posted by adamrice at 10:59 AM on May 5

But...only nominally (*). The lead character in both is a stunt man named Colt Seavers, there's a woman named Jody in it. That's about it. I've actually been wondering if it's been a box-office disappointment because there is no ready-made nostalgia market for the original show and everyone else is like, ehhhhhhh, a reboot of something I've barely even heard of, pass.

(Also, the first trailer was very one-note and not too appealing. The second was much better, and swung me to giving it a chance, but not everyone sees every trailer.)

(*) Probably for the best. I was just relistening to the original theme song, and, uhhhhhhhhhhh, it's all about how he gets to do all this double-entendre stuff with famous hot chicks but it's the name actors who get to bang them.
posted by praemunire at 4:38 PM on May 5

I saw this today and enjoyed it, and laughed at jokes, which nobody else in the audience did. I actually think this is a good concept for a "remake of an old TV show" concept. The Gos is good stuff in this movie and he and Emily Blunt made it work. Hannah Waddingham was excellent, and Jake is smarmy awful when he's around.

I about died that they used "All Too Well" in a movie featuring Jake. Also enjoyed the "Against All Odds" song and "I Believe In A Thing Called Love." Good soundtrack there.

I note that the audience walked out before the midcredits scene, which shows Jake blowing himself up with his phone and Lee Majors arresting Gail. Delightful. I think this movie looked like people were having a good time in it, and I'm sorry it wasn't more of a hit (though I note I went at the 11:20 Sunday showing).
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:48 PM on May 5