While I found enough in The Fall Guy to enjoy, and the metatextual layering should be especially delightful for fans of cinema and stunt work, it's easy to see why it didn't exactly set the box office alight. I was depressed by the amount of people reviewing this who felt the need to mention that they were unaware of the original TV show, a favourite in my household when I was a young boy, but failing to have enough "brand recognition" is really the least of this movie's problems.
Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a talented stunt performer who ends up leaving the business for some time to recuperate after one stunt went horribly wrong, seriously injuring him. He hides away from everyone, including the woman he was growing close to (Judy Moreno, played by Emily Blunt). Hollywood calls him back, however, when producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) tells him that Judy wants his help in her feature directorial debut. He could also help her by locating her AWOL leading man (Tom Ryder, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
Directed by David Leitch, and written by Drew Pearce, this is a film that feels as if it has been crafted around three or four major set-pieces. There’s an impressive opening, a decent car stunt that shows our lead character fully back into the stunt life, a few enjoyable fight sequences, and a finale that almost works as a classic stunt checklist. It works well as a star vehicle that also serves to celebrate the stunt performers who are responsible for some of the great cinema spectacles.
Sadly, it doesn’t work well as an action romantic comedy, mainly because it doesn’t allow enough time for Gosling and Blunt to be onscreen together, but also because it is too cutesy in a way that I thought was a bit smug and irritating (prime example = a scene in which the leads are on the phone discussing the pros and cons of split-screen sequences . . . displayed via a split-screen sequence). It is also annoying to have the title be made so literal in at least two different ways, which makes a couple of the plot points more predictable and tiresome than they might otherwise have been.
Gosling is great in the lead role, but he is at his best when his character is quickly reacting to a dangerous situation whirling around him. He really shines in the second half, which is coincidentally when the action and daring nature of the stunts really appear to ramp up, but his presence is a boost for the whole film. Blunt, on the other hand, doesn’t fare so well. I like her as a performer, but she lacks whatever quality is needed to make her the best choice here. Maybe she’s just made to play things too cool. It’s a shame. Taylor-Johnson is fun, and hilarious when delivering his “film within the film” performance in a great Matthew McConaughey style, Waddingham does fine with a character who steers everything in a very obvious direction, and Winston Duke does well as a stunt co-ordinator and good friend to our reluctant hero. There are also small roles for Teresa Palmer and Stephanie Hsu, both completely wasted, and I am not sure why their characters were even kept in the film.
The pacing is helped by the building momentum, there’s a great soundtrack and score that is boosted by repeated riffs from “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, and fans of stunt-work should love seeing how the staples of that discipline are constantly reworked and refreshed throughout this. It just doesn’t quite make one completely satisfying bit of blockbuster entertainment, despite being enjoyable enough. I would definitely rewatch it though, and a rewatch might get me to like it even more, especially when I consider how the small treats at the very end of the film kept me smiling as the long list of credits rolled.
6/10
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I knew of the original show but it was on too late for my parents to let me watch it. Never caught it in reruns either.
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like one to rent or stream though I suppose those set pieces might look better on the big screen.