‘The Fall Guy’ Review: An Action-Packed Tribute to the Stunt Industry

There’s a scene in David Leitch’s new action comedy The Fall Guy in which Ryan Gosling’s character has a discussion with another character about how there is no Academy Award for stunts. It’s a funny meta moment of the film that touches on the real ongoing conversations in Hollywood about stunt work and their long overdue acknowledgement come award season. The entire film, which centers on a stunt double who gets dragged into searching for a missing movie star, is a celebration of the stunt work that goes into making our favorite action films. Aside from plenty of well choreographed fight scenes, there’s plenty of humor and most of all heart to the film. The Fall Guy is an action-packed tribute to the stunt industry.

Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is one of the best stuntmen in the industry but after a disastrous stunt gone wrong leaves him with a broken back, he leaves Hollywood for a more calm retirement. That retirement barely lasts a year before he is roped into working on a stuntman again, this time on the set of his ex-girlfriend Jody (Emily Blunt) who has moved up from being a camerawoman to now director since Colt’s accident. Her directorial debut isn’t going smoothly however as the lead actor has disappeared, and producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) enlists Colt’s help to find him. Turns out Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is in much deeper trouble than anyone could imagine, and Colt finds himself being hunted down by a dangerous group of individuals are looking for Tom as well.

The Fall Guy is without a doubt a stuntperson’s movie. Director David Leitch was a former stuntman before his work on John Wick propelled him to stardom so he knows everything there is to know about the business. So it’s no surprise that the stunts and action scenes in the film are fantastic. There are two plots going on; one in which Colt is trying to find Tom and the other where the fictional film is trying to get made. The whole movie within a movie leads to a double layer of stunt work. There’s the typical choreographed fights and explosions of any action film, but then there are also behind-the-scenes stunts that work within the context of filming a movie. The Fall Guy essentially shows the audience how a stunt is done and then uses the same technique later in the film. For instance, there’s a scene where Colt is lit on fire for multiple takes while filming Jody’s movie. We see the crew apply fire-retardant gel to him and the guy with the fire extinguisher who is right off camera. Then later in the film one of the characters gets set on fire as part of the story. The Fall Guy is one big stunt-ception.

The story itself is fine. Both Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are great together and their romance that is at the core of the film hits all the right notes it needs to. The humor can be hit or miss at times, but Gosling’s charm always manages to shine through. The Fall Guy knows that the humor, romance, and story aren’t the main focus of the film. It’s all about the stunts, and everything else works together to elevate that aspect. The film succeeds in that regard and never takes itself too seriously.

Simply put, The Fall Guy is a fun time at the theaters. The hits never stop coming and the film highlights the best the stunt industry has to offer. The story can be a little ridiculous at times, but you’ll be too busy laughing or in awe to really care. The Fall Guy is a love letter to stunts and there’s no telling how quickly you’ll fall head over heels for it.