‘The Fall Guy’ review: Ryan Gosling’s Ken-ergetic ode to stunt workers

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt bring off-the-scale chemistry to this wildly entertaining thriller, a delicious blend of action comedy and screwball romance. It’s nominally based on a 1980s TV show about a stuntman-slash-bounty hunter, but that’s really just a convenient framework for stuntman-turned-director David Leitch (the John Wick franchise) to create a loving tribute to his former profession.

Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stunt man who’s the regular action double for obnoxious A-lister Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Colt is happily dating camera operator Jody Moreno (Blunt), until a disastrous on-set accident puts him out of the stunt game for a year and a half – and he ends up ghosting her out of shame and depression.

Once fully recovered, Colt is too dejected to return to stunt work, until he gets a call from producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham), urging him to fly to Sydney and help out on sci-fi epic Metalstorm, which is being directed by Jody. Thrilled at the prospect of a romantic reunion, Colt shows up on set, only to discover that Jody doesn’t want him there, and Gail actually called him because Ryder has gone missing and needs to be found before the film gets shut down.

The script, by Drew Pearce, does an excellent job of blending several different elements, to the point where romantic comedy dialogue scenes take place within action sequences or the on-set stuntwork becomes part of the plot. It’s also filled with consistently entertaining meta-jokes and self-aware commentary, whether it’s Colt and Jody discussing the relationship problems in the Metalstorm script (but really talking about each other), frequent mentions of actors doing their own stunts or a lovely little throwaway moment when someone says, “A stuntman? Cool. They give Oscars for that?” and Colt replies, resignedly, “Oscars? No.”

The action, as you might expect, is a joy to watch – Leitch and Pearce have deliberately fashioned the film to showcase every aspect of a stunt performer’s work, from falls to fight sequences, car chases to crashes, wire-work to fire-work and everything in between. And if the script itself doesn’t highlight the effort and commitment that goes into those moments, then there’s a series of behind-the-scenes sequences during the end credits to illustrate it further.

If anything, the performances are even more fun than the stunts, and that’s really saying something. Gosling’s Kenergy levels are at an all-time high, and he brings effortless charm to Colt, while sparking fabulous comic and romantic chemistry with Blunt. Similarly, Waddingham (clearly enjoying herself) is very funny as Gail and there’s terrific work from a strong support cast that includes Winston Duke (as a stunt co-ordinator who helps Colt investigate) and Stephanie Hsu (as Ryder’s assistant), not to mention the scene-stealing stunt dog called Jean-Claude that’s trained to respond to commands in French.

In short, The Fall Guy is a delight from start to finish, thanks to a sparkling script, thrilling action sequences and to-die-for comic chemistry between the two leads. There are even a couple of lovely nods to the original TV show, which is kind, considering nobody under 50 is likely to clock them.