Historically, films adapted from long-gone television shows are a risky proposition. There are only a handful that have yielded any sort of artistic or box-office success recently, such as the Denzel Washington-led Equalizer trilogy or the hilarious contemporary re-imaginings of 21 Jump Street from the early 2010s. Director David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, loosely based on the 1980s series about stunt performers, doesn’t hit the same levels of tension or laughs found in those recent adaptations, but it also doesn’t quite seem to be going for them. Its excitement and energy are of a breezier nature, and that’s perfectly enjoyable, even though the film is more than a bit rough around the edges. Though the stunts will blow you away, I wouldn’t expect the whole movie to do the same throughout.
Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is the stunt double for action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). One day, Colt is severely injured during a fall. Over a year later, Colt’s now ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) has moved up in the world from camera operator to director, and the two have not spoken since the accident. Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), the producer of Jody’s first feature film, calls Colt to convince him to join the production in Sydney, Australia. The hiring comes as a shock to Jody, and when he realizes that Tom has disappeared, Colt is sent to find the star as he simultaneously tries to rekindle the flames of romance.
The romantic-comedy angle makes for one of the film’s standout comedic scenes when Jody first realizes Colt is on her set. Gosling and Blunt have tremendous chemistry, and they carry the film when it isn’t in action mode. It’s a shame so much of this film is edited so poorly. Even in its calmer comedic moments, it doesn’t quite know how to make the jokes land smoothly or pop brightly. I’m going to blame Leitch for this problem more than editor Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, because the two have worked together on most of his films, and his films rarely seem like anything other than his unfiltered vision. Where Bullet Train annoyed me with its utter insanity, The Fall Guy is considerably more grounded, and is therefore constructed in a way more typical of big-budget Hollywood action pictures. The problem is that in Leitch’s hands, neither ethos translates smoothly enough. The Fall Guy leaves itself with a lot of dead air. It could have used a little more insanity, a little more zaniness, a little more punch. Having peaked in the pure action realm with Atomic Blonde, Leitch hasn’t yet found his perfect comedic voice.
For most of The Fall Guy’s runtime, however, this isn’t an unforgivable flaw. Though it’s still a little choppy, the car chase in the middle of the film is genuinely groundbreaking and thrilling. When we get to a third act which could be said to be a little bloated, the film is so jovial and the action is so well-done that it would be hard not to go along with it. It’s definitely cartoonish, but it appropriately emphasizes the physicality of the stunts, and thus, it never feels like it goes too far.
Suspend your disbelief and you’ll have a grand old time. Will this film probably be forgotten by the general public by next year? Yes, but it’s certainly a nice start to a summer soundtrack, even if it won’t be the song of the summer. | George Napper
