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I’ve noticed that a lot of the reviews for The Fall Guy fail to mention that it’s based off the hit 80s series starring Lee Majors (who has a nice cameo at the end of the film). Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, this fun reboot of the show has plenty of action, laughs and romance that anyone can enjoy.
Directed by David Leitch, who ironically is a former stuntman turned director and gave us hits such as Bullet Train, the John Wick films, Deadpool 2, and more, it’s only fitting he’d be the one to bring us the life of Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), a stuntman who is one of the best around and busting his butt literally to make main actors look good.
Things are going good for Colt and his camera lady girlfriend Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) as sparks fly between them on and off the many sets they work together on. Sadly while working on a film starring Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Colt has a serious accident that shakes him to the core and ends up quitting stuntwork and his relationship with Jody.
We pick up a year later where Colt gets a phone call from his movie producer friend Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) that’s trying to get Colt out of his funk and back to working again in movies. He’s ready to hang up until Gail mentions Jody will be making her directing debut in this film and wants Colt to do the stunts, so of course he’s on the first plane out to the set.
We then learn Gail just said that last part to get Colt out there, which leads to some awkward tension between Colt and Jody on the set, while Tom Ryder is also set to star in the film, which brings back the painful memory of the accident for Colt. Things take a crazy turn when Tom goes to a party one night and doesn’t show up for work, leading Colt to go out and find him. What he finds instead is a dead body and Tom nowhere to be found.
It’s from here the film turns into an action-comedy mystery as Colt, Jody and Gail team together to find out what happened to Tom and what’s up with the dead body. Thankfully Colt also has a stunt coordinator buddy Dan Tucker (Winston Duke) to help as the further they look into what happened, the more dangerous the adventure becomes.
I went into The Fall Guy looking for a good time, but I didn’t think I’d laugh, cheer, and love the film as much as I did. Everyone in the film is perfect, from Ryan Gosling delivering quips and sarcasm, to having awesome chemistry with Emily Blunt as well as the other actors. You can tell everyone had fun making the movie and it shows in every frame, as most times the characters talk as though the actors ab-libbed most of their lines that play off of each other perfectly.
And if that wasn’t enough, I love how the movie pokes fun at Hollywood and how films are made, from the bickering and egos, all the way down to the realistic stunts which were actually real thanks to Ryan Gosling and the actors doing most of their own stunts which you get to see as bonus footage during the end credits.
With this being a 4K HDR release, the colors and details are beautiful which is perfect as there’s a lot of action going on and it’s nice to see all of the details that went into filming it and the stunts. The Dolby Atmos audio is another nice treat as it places you right in the middle of the action and laughs.
There’s also a nice bit of special features to go through once the credits roll, starting with audio commentary featuring director David Leitch and producer Kelly McCormick where they discuss how they went about crafting a meta upon meta movie, some of their favorite songs that made it on the soundtrack, the stunt work involved, and more.
My favorite out of the bunch is the “Extended Cut” of the movie that adds about twenty more minutes of footage. This version comes on its own 4K disc and features more backstory for the supporting characters and is edited differently to play out more straightforward instead of mixing in the past with the present like the theatrical cut does.
Other extras include a “Gag Reel” which is always fun, “Alternate Takes” that show off different dialogue in some scenes, multiple behind the scenes featurettes that go into the making of the movie, how the stunts were filmed, and more.
If you’re looking for a fun, action-comedy with a nice touch of romance, you’ll want to pick up The Fall Guy as it’s easily one of the best, underrated hits of the year. Perfect cast chemistry, awesome action scenes and touching moments of drama and romance make this one to fall for.