Most recently, I finally got around to seeing 1928’s Steamboat Bill, Jr.
It was this film where Buster Keaton (arguably the most influential leading man who did his own stunts) stood perfectly still as the side of a house fell on him, only unscathed due to an open window (your move, Tom Cruise!). Every since Keaton’s days, the stunt man has been risking all for the purpose of the shot (more than enough have sadly died in the process).
David Leitch’s film The Fall Guy is clearly a love letter to stuntmen and women past and present. Himself a former stuntman for stars like Brad Pitt (as well as being at the helm of films like Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train), this film (based off of a TV series I admit to knowing virtually nothing about) focuses on seasoned stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling). After a near fatal experience on set in the opening segment of the film, we see Seavers 18 months later as a valet.
Despite being in his own self seclusion, he is contacted by producer Gail Meyer (Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham, getting some good bite out of her role). The mega star that Colt had been the stunt double for, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), has gone missing and they need Colt to not only help find Ryder, but fill in for him on his latest movie being filmed in Sydney, Australia. Colt is hesitant, but agrees when he finds out his old flame Jodie (Emily Blunt) is making her debut as the director of the film, entitled “MetalStorm” (which reminded me of a Mad Max meets Dune sort of thing).
The plot is not really that important here, even though we get some good comedic moments from the likes of actors like Winston Duke, Teresa Palmer, and Stephanie Tsu (not to mention some cameos). What matters most is the action scenes and the star power of its leads (including their chemistry). As stated before, director David Leitch is himself a former stuntman, so he clearly knows how to craft a well made scene with quality stunt work (the one that got me laughing out loud was the one lead by Duke’s character). Because of the material in the script, each scene clearly has a tongue in cheek, meta quality to them.
The “meta” aspects of the film are not confined to just the action scenes. They also in much of the dialogue, mainly by Blunt. There is a great scene where, when Colt is back on set, Jodie is describing the plot of the film to him. Without giving anything away, let us just say it is clear where she is getting her inspiration from.
One thing that did worry me a bit was the choice of songs in the film, since the trailers proved the songs would be rather on the nose. The result: Not bad, but not as effective as I wished they could have been (minus one clear song that Colt is crying to in the car, which was brilliant).
Parents, the film is a standard PG-13 rating. There is no real sexual content at all, just some action violence and casual swearing you would hear in most middle schools (one F bomb). Middle school and above.
If you ever had doubt that Gosling was a bona fide star,…well, now you can’t possibly. I kept thinking to myself “Has he ever not had chemistry with his co stars before?”, and the only one that comes close was his lack of effectiveness on defense in Remember the Titans (to be fair, that was due to the role.)
I’m struggling to think of what movie stars of the past he reminds me of (maybe Redford?), but he is clearly one who has come a long way from his early days as the heartthrob of The Notebook.
Now, he is more than just Ken: he is basically unstoppable.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 