The Fall Guy (2024) Movie Review

The Fall Guy (2024) Movie Review

Ryan Gosling has made a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s best actors, with the actor currently holding three Academy Award nominations for Lars & the real girl (2007), LaLa land (2017) and Barbie (2024) respectively. He has been one of the most reliable performers in front of the camera for a number of years, jumping across multiple different genres, elevating every single role he plays. It only made sense for him to team up with another powerhouse performer, in Emily Blunt. Blunt has also been a part of some of the biggest films of the past 15 years, including but not limited to, The Devil Wears Parada, Edge of tomorrow (aka Live Die Repeat), A Quite Place and A Quiet place: part 2, Jungle Cruise, Mary Poppins Returns and this years ‘The Fall Guy’ opposite the aforementioned Ryan Gosling. With these two powerhouse performers sharing the screen, I like so many others was so excited to see these two team up in a David Leitch directed film (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw). 

‘The Fall Guy’ is a reboot, of a forgotten 1980s action, tv series of the same name. The film follows a down-and-out stuntman, Colt Steavers (played by Ryan Gosling) who is tasked with finding missing actor, Tom Ryder (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who has gone missing on the shoot of his latest film ‘Metalstorm’, directed by Colt’s ex-girlfriend Jody Moreno (played by Emily Blunt). Coly must traverse a real-world conspiracy, save the production of Metalstorm and win back his ex! As a fan of the cast and director, I was really looking forward to ‘The Fall Guy’, as I do enjoy seeing Gosling take on more light-hearted projects, and ‘The fall Guy’ did not disappoint.

The real strengths of this film lie in the chemistry between its well-matched leads. Gosling and Blunt are a delight on-screen together. They really do feel like they have a history with one another, and the way the two of them banter back and forth throughout the film really is fun to watch. The supporting cast also play their part in making this one of 2024s best comedy/action films. Winston Duke, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu and Hannah Wddingham round out the impressive cast, providing a lot of laughs along the way. It’s a great ensemble, elevated by its incredible leads.

The films Sydney setting also goes a long way for me personally. As a fellow Aussie (like 99% of you reading this blog post), we’ve seen a rise recently of big American blockbuster films, either being filmed here or actually set here with the Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell Rom-Com ‘Anyone But You’ and now The Fall Guy. The film, within a film, Metalstorm, feels like a homage to Mad Max, but its fictional production in Australia feels very meta as well, with many films now being shot here in Australia. Seeing the streets of Sydney being used for action set-pieces is so much fun. As someone who frequents the streets of Sydney quite regularly, it’s pretty awesome to visualise the exact street and location each of these sequences take place in. This will be something lost on American audiences, but for us Australians, it really was awesome to see.

The general plot is also a major strength of The Fall Guy as well. The film pays its respect to the stunt men and women who constantly put their bodies on the line for our entertainment. Director David Lietch’s stunt background here serves as the perfect motivation for him to make the film. You can clearly see his love for the craft showcasing some truly awesome stunts and making a fictional stuntman, Colt Steavers, the centre of whole plot. The intrigue and mystery surrounding the vanishing of Metalstorm lead actor, Tom Ryder makes for a fun and compelling mystery. The screenplay for this particular story also invites for some amazing action set-pieces, highlighted above. It’s just a lot of fun and as a fan of film and the history of cinema, I got a lot of out of this. There is also a great credit sequence that pays homage and respect to the stunt people who worked on the film.

‘The Fall Guy’ is one of the better action comedies of 2024 thus far. It’s fast-paced, full of great action, and elevated by its amazing cast of stars, in particular the films two leads. They shine here and I would love to see the two of them tackle another project together. Overall, this is a must-watch for cinema fans and if you’re looking for a fun Friday night movie, you really can’t go wrong here. Be sure to pick-up a copy of ‘the Fall Guy’ from Sanity today on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K Ultra HD. You won’t want to miss it! 

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here