By John Corrado

Fashioned as a love letter to Hollywood stunt doubles, The Fall Guy is a mildly entertaining but ultimately uneven romantic action comedy from director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Bullet Train).

Ryan Gosling stars in the film as Colt Seavers, who is the main stunt double for Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), an arrogant action star who claims in interviews to do his own stunts.

At the start of the film, Colt is involved in a casual romantic fling with camera operator Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). But an on-set accident involving a fall gone wrong puts him out of commission, and forces him to leave the stunt world (and Jody) behind.

Cut to eighteen months later, and Colt receives a surprise phone call from producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), who wants him as Tom’s stunt double for Jody’s directorial debut, an epic sci-fi Western romance called Metalstorm. He flies out to Australia for the production, but finds a production that is millions of dollars over budget with star Ryder having gone missing, pulling him into a real life mystery.

For a film that was largely made to push the Oscars to add a stunt category, one comes away from The Fall Guy wishing that it was just a little better or took itself just a bit more seriously. While the film can be clever at times (a split screen sequence comes to mind), it’s also a little too goofy in places (like a drug trip involving unicorn hallucinations). Most of the supporting players, including Stephanie Hsu, also feel like they had several of their scenes cut.

This is not to say that the film itself is bad (it’s not), but it does leave The Fall Guy feeling somewhat disjointed. The screenplay by Drew Pearce isn’t as snappy as it wants to be; a lot of the humour ends up seeming forced, and the romance falls sort of flat, despite the best efforts of the immensely talented leads. The film also overstays its welcome at a bloated 126 minute runtime, with a far-fetched plot and characters that aren’t very interesting (Blunt’s Jody is also never particularly believable as a big action movie director).

But Leitch’s film is still somewhat enjoyable on its own terms, thanks in large part to Gosling’s natural charm and some fun, mostly comedic action sequences. The film is also able to showcase some cool stunts, performed by Gosling and his own coterie of stunt doubles, with the behind-the-scenes footage that plays over the end credits showing how they did them serving as the best tribute to their work. It’s entertaining enough for an at-home rental.

Film Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)

Bonus Features (Blu-ray):

The Blu-ray set comes with two discs; the first contains the theatrical version of the film and a variety of bonus features, while the second disc holds an extended cut of the film that runs twenty minutes longer. A commentary track is included on both versions of the film. The package ships with a shiny slipcover.

• Gag Reel (4 minutes, 36 seconds): The actors struggle to keep a straight face on set.

• Alternate Takes (5 minutes, 52 seconds): A number of different line readings.

• Stunts on Stunts: Breaking Down the Action (Play All – 18 minutes, 58 seconds): A closer look at several of the big stunts in the film (including the massive car jump at the end), while also introducing us to Gosling’s stunt doubles.

• City Truck Jump / Sitewinder (3 minutes, 1 second)

• Garbage Bin (3 minutes, 56 seconds)

• Boat Chase (3 minutes, 30 seconds)

• Car Jump (3 minutes, 39 seconds)

• High Fall (4 minutes, 51 seconds)

• Making a Meta Masterpiece (16 minutes, 3 seconds): A look at the themes of the film, the characters, and developing the story around the stunts.

• How to Break a World Record (6 minutes, 4 seconds): Looks at how stunt driver Logan Holladay broke the world record for most cannon rolls in a film.

• Nightclub Mayhem (3 minutes, 30 seconds): Choreographing the nightclub fight, with Gosling doing some of his own stunts.

• The Art of Doubling (4 minutes, 22 seconds): A look at stunt guy Ben Jenken, who serves as a direct double for Gosling.

• Making Metalstorm (4 minutes, 31 seconds): A look at developing the fake movie-within-a-movie, inspired by a real low-budget sci-fi film from the 1980s.

• Falling for The Fall Guy with Bob Reese (4 minutes, 24 seconds): Bob Reese, a professional parkour athlete, recreates several of the stunts from the film.

• Feature Commentary with Director/Producer David Leitch and Producer Kelly McCormick

The Fall Guy is a Universal Pictures Home Entertainment release. The theatrical version is 126 minutes and rated PG. The extended cut is 126 minutes.

Street Date: July 23rd, 2024