Movie Review: The Fall Guy

 

Hey everyone, my name is Anthony and welcome back to my Movie Review.

You know, when we’re making movies like action, horror, adventures or others, doing stunts a one dangerous and tough aspect to do a traditional effects, whether be a car chase, being thrown out, jump away from explosions and many more, stunt performers are no strangers to putting their lives on the line for execution, some can go nice, but others could be at risk for either injuries, or worse, death on set. But what if we have a movie, instead of typical movie within a making a movie like “Singing in the Rain”, “Ed Wood” or “Living in Oblivion”, what about a movie within a making a movie that involves a life struggling as a stunt performer? Well, someone has the answer that happens to be based on a TV show.

“The Fall Guy” is a 2024 action-comedy film that was produced/directed by David Leitch, co-produced by Kelly McCormick, Ryan Gosling (Yup, Beach Ken is also work as producer), and Guymon Casady, then written by Drew Pearce.

From many decades ago, The Fall Guy was first introduced as a TV show, aired on ABC in 1981, the show had a good review from critics and audience involving a stunt performer who also work as a bounty hunter. The show was, surprisingly, lasted 5 seasons from 1981 to 1986. With the show has now earning a cult following, somebody in Hollywood wanted to make a movie based on a show. It all started in 2010 that DreamWorks Picutres was planning to making their own movie based on the show with veteran producers like Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald and James Bond movies director Martin Campbell as a director, but that plan has been changed to giving Disney subsidiary brand Touchstone Pictures for national releases, along with replacement roles, like McG is gonna be a new director role, but alas, the project was left to nothing for so many years. But then came in late 2020, where Universal Pictures brought it back from the grave with new roles after it was originally planned, along with new people took over the project.

But as always, im gonna do a comparison between a movie and show, because I never seen the show.

So, with all that said, will the stunt and bounty hunting will be a good double business, or doing a real life stunt as bounty hunter is like a death wish?

Well, lets find out.

The Story

For a movie about stuntman going on a journey to fighting against crime? Its rather cliché, but it does have its creative execution.

The movie begins in a montage of many films that we’ve seen many stunts what they pulling off back then, because stunt performers (as well as some actors doing their stunts like Tom Cruise, but its different story) are putting lives on the line to pulling off some challenging and dangerous stunts to pull off to get paid for both actors, producers, writers and directors. Anyway, we introduce our stuntman name “Colt Seavers” who’s been doing stunts in several movies as a Stunt Double to the action actor Tom Ryder. But in one day, Colt pulls a stunt when he acts like he’s falling down the ground with harness and wires, but instead it ended up as a stunt gone wrong that he ended up broke his back really badly, leaving him injured and abandoning his career and his relationship on Judy Moreno. Fast Forward to 18 months later, while he’s pretty much relaxing on his own, he got himself smitten by Gail Meyer at Mexican restaurant, Gail, as a producer of Tom Ryder’s movies, is asking him to come back to the set to giving him another chance. Doubtful at first, but he accepts for his comeback to be involved with an upcoming movie called “Metalstorm”, but little did he knows, is that his ex Jody is pissed from being broke that she wasn’t planning to rehiring him. However, around the time after pulling a multiple stunts from car rolling crash to launching himself from explosion, Gail tells Colt that Tom Ryder is missing after having a legal trouble from drug dealers. Despite of causing the movie’s potential cancellation, its up to Colt on his journey to finding Tom without getting into legal trouble on public.

While the movie plays like a typical rescue mission movie, as well as the name clearing plot, but it has a nicely addition with a mix of these with making a movie element and having a stuntman pulling a real life stunt rather than doing a movie stunts, it may sounds like an odd concept, but its execution for a mix of action movie and a real life action to making our main hero feels like he’s in both worlds, especially for dealing his obstacles from fighting against Tom’s ex, interrogation with drug dealer Doone to even some other parts that tricking him, especially with the aforementioned Doone that he was setting up to drugging him in a cocktail into one colorful hallucination. Since its an action comedy, im surprisingly find some humors in the movie actually made me laugh, sure, some jokes can be hit or miss, but the jokes in the are actually both good and funny, especially some moment that I was like laughing my butt off. For an action movie, this one is rather soft as a PG rated movie, with a rather less profanity, they can be worked, but some action scene might be kinda too safe, more on the later at Presentation.

While the story is typical from frameup to rescue, but its the execution of this movie to making it both good, creative and also funny at the same time.

The Presentation

The movie’s budget costs about between $125 - $150M, the movie’s presentation is surprisingly looks pretty good, along with movie’s stunts.

For starter, I first though that this movie is filmed somewhere in Nevada or even in North of Mexico and then green screen at sound stage, but in reality, because I was naive without realization, it was filmed in Australia, commonly in its country’s capital Sydney or even somewhere in the desert, they did a nice work for their filming in Australia ranging from action stunts in the city of Sydney or even filming set in somewhere in the desert, then later making post-production effect in, I think producers’ screen test with those effects in a fictional movie Metalstorm.

Speaking of effects, the effects are minimal of CG to more focus on practical effects, and of course, the good’ol fashion stunts, While the effects in a fictional movie looks nice, but one part that I enjoy is when Colt fighting against bad guys while in hallucination, it goes into a flashy, colorful and neon comic-like effect in fighting, it looks pretty good one for what they pulled. As for the practical effects, its no stranger that they pulled a real stunts from either throwing around in the air with harness and wires or even doing a parkour. I guess its not hard to see why David Leitch said that he wanted those stunts to be authentic and calling this “letter to stunts”. But one of the highlight of this movie is the stunt scene with cars, I mean, if you may not know me, I like seeing car stunts, commonly with car chases, but this one took to a challenging level that in one scene that they’re using a cannon device into the ground from car’s moving (pretty common for most car stunts), when they pulled off, the car ended up rolling in eight and a half when stunt driver Logan Holladay pulled off, as a result, not only it looked impressive and yet risky, but it also broke the record at “Guinness World Record” for “The most cannon rolls in a car”, il give a credit for what they pulled off and big congrats for them for their new record to Guinness.

As for the action scenes, they’re good for its movie’s focus for dealing for both stunt performance and beat down, ranging from hallucination fight, an apartment fight (twice) to one of the riskiest of all, a fight in a middle of moving rubbish truck with, like any stuntmen, Colt putting his life for his obstacles to keeping himself alive against baddies. However, the fight scenes are not as brutal nor even killing, since, as I said before, its Rated PG, we never be able to see a brutal or bloody death, like one bad guy gets hit by a sign and somehow survived with get killed from broken neck, that’s an example im pointed out that the fight scenes are rather soft to have body count due to being a PG Rated film. I mean sure, we may see a blood or bruise, but again, too soft and safe.

However, another nitpick I have for the movie’s presentation is the soundtrack. Don’t get me wrong, the music soundtrack by Dominic Lewis is good that I can say, along with the use of music from Taylor Swift, AC/DC and Phil Collins. But what I meant is the overuse of the song in this movie called “I was made for lovin’ you” by KISS, along with its cover by Yungblud, it felt like I listen to it, either from the original song or being composed, its just too much that Dom could’ve make something different rather than recycle from KISS’s song.

Soundtrack issue aside, the movie’s presentation looks pretty for filming Down Under to fun stunts.

The Characters

Even though without the comparison between the show and the movie, I find the characters in this movie are both good and fun performance.

Lets start off with the main hero Colt Seavers (played by Beach Ken himself, Ryan Gosling), a main stunt performer and real life action as a bounty hunter for the whereabouts of Tom Ryder. He’s a struggled stuntman after had a near career ending injury from 18 months ago that, despite he comes back to the movies for another stunts, but also trying to get a new life with a new girlfriend after breaking up his ex, even its he’s like a veteran stunt performer, even though he’s like he’s in 40s. But, I find him both fascinating and fun, not because of his stunts of action, but also fun committing performance from Gosling, after all, he’s the same guy who played Ken that he’s pretty funny in his performance, along with “Im just Ken”, he did a fun work of his performance.

Next up is Jody Moreno (played by Emily Blunt), she’s a then-producer turned female film director for her directorial debut of Metalstorm and Colt’s ex that even when they reunited, it wasn’t an easy welcome return, that is until they’ll reconciling later in the movie (though not gonna SPOILING this movie for the final result of their relationship). I find her mixed that she’s either disgusted from his breakup or trying to changing her heart, or maybe both for being neutral. Don’t get me wrong, Emily did a great work of her performance, but its just that the writing is mixed bag that I had a hard time to think if she’s good for trying to reuniting Colt or being neutral when she wasn’t so happy to see him again after what happened to Colt’s incident.

After that, we have Tom Ryder (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, aka Kick-Ass), a main action actor whom, despite he has a great reputation of his role in action films, but he also has a dark cloud when he disappeared based on his legal trouble with drug dealer. Im pretty he’s based on when actors were fallen from grace with allegations or scandals, when it comes to Tom, he took to a new level that despite he’s meant to be famous, he also has a dark rumor when he’s involve with drugs or allegedly kill somebody, but again, not gonna SPOIL the latter. I find him rather fascinating, especially I would love to see him to have a backstage beef at Colt about the injury or the fame, but its too bad he has a very minimal appearance as a villainous actor, he’s only seen a bit in the first act and third act cause I think Aaron did nice work of his performance, it would’ve been great to knowing what’s happening on him, but it probably focuses too much on Colt’s action.

Finally, there’s Gail Meyer (played by Hannah Waddingham), the new producer of Jody’s new film and she’s the one who’s giving a plot convenient for Tom Ryder’s whereabouts. While she’s responsible to bringing Colt into mission for finding Tom Ryder, but sometimes, we smell some rats about her setup that maybe she’s on Ryder’s side in attempting bringing him back to film making in attempt to make Colt into a bad image when Jody wasn’t so happy to see him again after he broke up. Which she’s probably responsible for the clearing the name plot for, again, secretly trying to put Colt away to finding Ryder either he has a legal trouble or framing Colt, but again, not gonna SPOILING it. Which I find her to be rather nice written character and Hannah did a nice work of her role.

As for the rest of the characters, there not much to say, either for plot or appeared for subplot, there’s Iggy Starr (played by Teresa Palmer) who’s Tom Ryder’s girlfriend, Alma Milan (played by Stephanie Hsu) who’s Tom Ryder’s personal assistant for being kidnapped in a rubbish truck, Doone (played by Matuse) is a drug dealer for Tom, and Dan Tucker (played by Winston Duke) who’s both Colt’s best friend and stunt coordinator.

While most characters have minor or no development, but the four main characters are both fascinating and have their fun performances, even if some them deserves better for more screen time than less.

And now for my final opinion of this film

Overall, The Fall Guy is a fun action movie, even though im not familiar with the show, despite my parents remembered it from many decades ago before I was born.

Aside my knowledge of the show, but I enjoyed it for its action scenes, the practical stunts, some good post-production effects, a creative story (for the most part), the writing is descent, some humors are chuckle and laugh worthy, and the characters are good with fun acting.

However, it may not be as perfect with problems like overuse of KISS’s famous song, either in composed or covered, some fights can be good, but could be too soft because its PG, and some characters are either could’ve make sense from the writing or a minimal of screen time due to the focus of Colt.

Though im sure some fans of The Fall Guys (if you’re lucky) will probably enjoy it, or maybe not. But unless if you’re a newcomer like me, I’d say this one is for you that you may enjoy to watch. This is definitely a film that I probably recommend to check it out if you like stunts or like to have an action comedy film with Ryan Gosling.

For my rating, im gonna give this one an 8/10.

So this ends of my movie review, if you guys have your opinion or any suggestions, let me know at comment bellow and support me on KO-FI.com/blackevil.

Thanks for reading, and im Anthony, signing out.