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In Praise of the Fall Guys, Tempered Praise for The Fall Guy

In the opening pre-show to The Fall Guy, a standard now for any blockbuster movie playing in theatres it seems, director David Leitch characterized the movie as a tribute to stunt performers, among the most under-appreciated artists working in Hollywood. In the bit, Ryan Gosling even made the now fairly common appeal for a Stunts category at the Oscars -also brought up in the movie itself. And if nothing else, the movie is dead-set on making that case, on emphasizing just how important stunt performers are to the movie industry and how thankless the job can seem -given the pain involved and lack of recognition. Leitch knows it first-hand, which is why though he didn’t write the movie, he was absolutely right to direct it.
And indeed The Fall Guy is the best movie in a while from the man who got his filmmaking start co-directing John Wick -probably owing to the palpable affection he has for the subject matter. The film is loosely based on a TV show from the 1980s your dad will remember, starring Lee Majors as Hollywood stuntman Colt Seavers, who moonlights as a bounty hunter. The Colt Seavers of this movie, played by Gosling, doesn’t have that exciting side gig, though he is an emphatic professional with a capacity to carry his skills away from set with him if the need arises. But an unexpected back injury puts him out of commission for over a year, during which time he completely ghosts his girlfriend Jody (Emily Blunt), a camera operator. Colt is only called back to the profession by producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) as a front for finding the movie star he used to double for, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who has gone missing from the set of an upcoming big-budget sci-fi blockbuster that happens to be Jody’s directing debut.
Setting aside the bewildering leap of a camera crew technician to director in the span of less than two years (maybe she was hired as one of those Marvel controllable bets), her set and the one before it are illustrated with meticulous detail. Leitch employs a few very savvy long takes that walk first Colt and then Jody through production, clearly designed to show the audience just how much work and how many moving parts go into the construction of shots and scenes we don’t typically think about. The latter especially, with the camera circling Jody as she convenes with various assistants and technicians around the execution of a special effect really encapsulates the coordination that goes into action movies in particular. And of course what adds even more to the authenticity of detail is Leitch’s commitment to practical effects. Those concerning the film set especially are all rendered in-camera: the explosions, the highly elaborate desert car chase and barrel roll, and of course the stunts -including Colt being set on fire and thrown against a ledge for an excessive number of takes as Jody’s revenge for him dropping out of her life.
This rockiness aside, the relationship between Jody and Colt is played about as well as it could be given the generic set-up. She’s hurt but not totally resentful, and he’s an idiot but still pitifully in love with her. There’s no barrier of snark or ego between them the way this sort of dynamic often plays out -there’s a lingering sometimes awkward sweetness instead. Gosling and Blunt play it like two teenagers (Gosling clearly channelling some leftover ‘Kenergy’ from Barbie) and it’s a good call both for the humour and for believability. It’s one of those rare times in a modern studio blockbuster where the relationship is drawn in a way that’s actually worth investing in.
A lot of the story however takes place in the action beats around that, where Leitch again maintains where possible a sense of practical reality even where the contexts are most ludicrous. He has a pretty good set-piece for that in Ryder's gaudy apartment -less so in the car chase that takes place through the streets of Sydney, where that commitment to authenticity in stunts is harder to take. It's the cutting up of some of these scenes, occasionally obscuring where the action could be most impressive -the same technical choice that plagued several action scenes in Monkey Man- where the action falls off and is rendered a bit dull. Here it is less frequent and less incoherent, though still disappointing given the film's otherwise convictions.
There are some issues too with the script, starting with the highly contrived and not particularly convincing rationale to get the plot in motion. Hiring Colt to find Ryder because "nobody would notice him missing" is a cute joke but a threadbare story catalyst. The direction to this endeavour is a little haphazard, dictated by what jokes or action scenes Leitch wants to hit. And then there are just some bits or stretches of dialogue that are corny in the bad way. Like a recurring theme of Colt's interactions with stunt coordinator Tucker (Winston Duke) where they quote movie lines at each other. For as much as The Fall Guy offers a charming inside look at the process and production of a major motion picture, it employs movie metaphors in fairly direct, awkwardly metatextual ways -whether it's Colt likening his experiences to a movie, or he and Jody having a conversation about the function of split-screens while in a split-screen. And all of the references to "Hall H" as the final destination for Jody's movie is both pandering and sad. The movie itself, Metalstorm, of course does not look like it would believably be much of a hit in this day and age -given its western genre laurels and lack of a tie-in to any established intellectual property. It also might just be a rip-off of Mad Max but with some aliens.
Broadly though, The Fall Guy is still funny, aided often by Gosling's blunt deliveries, and it has a very satisfying pay-off as to the mystery around Ryder's disappearance -one that reinforces that message on the vital role of stunt performers while sending up the egos of movie stars. In service of this, the climax is a stunt extravaganza, better executed and more fun than most other action scenes in the movie, though it does go on notably longer than necessary for the sake of a couple admittedly cool visuals.
Naturally, The Fall Guy ends with a series of behind-the-scenes clips expounding on the creation of the stunts, and highlighting Gosling's stunt team in the process. And it's effectively endearing, this pronounced conviction that Leitch and his whole cast and crew stand by. That goodwill makes a difference in light of an often lacklustre script and some poorly executed action beats. It is certainly not the old-fashioned action-comedy blockbuster that Leitch and co have been selling it as; far more polished, elaborate, and way way more expensive than anything from that Lethal Weapon era. And maybe the current landscape forces one to grade on a curve, but The Fall Guy is solid entertainment and a worthy tribute.

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