“The Fall Guy”, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, perfectly blends action, comedy and love to create a stellar movie.
Directed by David Leitch, the movie is about, ironically, the making of a movie. Every element of a production is seen in the first few minutes; scripts, cameras, VFX, and away from the spotlight lies stuntman Colt Seavers (Gosling).
Viewers follow Seavers as he returns to stunts following a broken back, only to find the director is ex-girlfriend Jody Banks (Blunt).
It’s Seavers’ job to perform as best he can for the movie, rescue the frontman of said film and try to rekindle his relationship with Banks.
The film has every component of a typical action movie: a love story enveloped into the plot, explosions, and even an animal sidekick.
However, there also are unique characteristics, like a litany of pop culture references, plot twists and even a unicorn. The movie as a whole is all over the place, in the best way possible.
The movie within the movie, “Metalstorm”, is a sci-fi enactment of the relationship between Seavers and Banks. The alien female, against all odds, slowly finds her way back to the high-flying space cowboy male.
Gosling and Blunt are excellent on their own, but are even better together. Gosling’s dry humor and charm pairs incredibly well with the outspoken, bolder Blunt.
The soundtrack, like the movie itself, is just the right amount of odd that makes it awesome. Within two hours, the score jumps from Taylor Swift to AC/DC to the recurring theme of “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” by KISS.
All of the choices are fitting. During a flashback of Seavers and Banks together, Taylor Swift sings that she “remembers it all too well.” When Gosling’s character is forced to do one of his first stunts ever, a boat jump for “Miami: Vice”, the Miami Vice TV theme is played. During the filming of an action sequence is “Metalstorm”, Garry Simpson sings that he “believes in a thing called love” while the camera pans to Banks, realizing why she loved Seavers so much before.
The film is littered with motifs and callbacks. For example, Seavers gives the “stuntman thumbs up” a total of 18 times.
Be sure to stay for the post credits scene. Director Leitch can’t end his stuntman tribute film without paying homage to the original ‘80s TV ‘Fall Guy’ Lee Majors. Both Majors and his former TV show sidekick, Heather Thomas, appear in the final scene.
To find a critique would be similar to finding a needle in a haystack. It could be argued that the film is riddled with clichés, but they work as a benefit rather than a disadvantage. In one scene, Banks calls Seavers to discuss the idea of using a split-screen in “Metalstorm”, and as they discuss, the screen splits for viewers to see them unknowingly mimic each other. The lovers in both “The Fall Guy” and “Metalstorm ” get “closer” to each other, only to acknowledge the line between them, a spectacular fourth wall break.
In totality, “The Fall Guy” is far from an all-time classic. However, as an action movie, it cannot be denied that it should be labeled a cinematic masterpiece.
