Movies
“The Fall Guy” Trailer Reaction
The premise of The Fall Guy (2024) is not difficult to grasp, but its simplistic roots are what gives it so much potential.
“A down-and-out stuntman must find the missing star of his ex-girlfriend’s blockbuster film.”
Director: David Leitch
Writer: Drew Pearce, Glen A. Larson
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Winston Duke
Release Date: May 3, 2024
IMDB
Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a stuntman working on a blockbuster film starring fictional Hollywood icon Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Colt is a bit down in the dumps because the director of the film he’s hired on is Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), the woman of Colt’s heart that he can not have. The logline suggests that the two had a past romance that didn’t work, but a chance at rekindled romance sparks when Colt is asked to go and find Tom Ryder, who has just disappeared off the face of the earth. Colt takes on the character he often mimics, becoming the action hero taking on countless foes and physical obstacles.
The premise of The Fall Guy (2024) is not difficult to grasp, but its simplistic roots are what gives it so much potential.
Director David Leitch is a man who dabbles in all facets of movie making. He has been a producer, writer, actor, and most importantly, stuntman and stunt coordinator. Leitch’s name arose to prominence after the success of his first directorial effort, John Wick (2014). It’s unfortunate that he goes down as uncredited for that effort, but in the years since, Leitch has forged his own path to directorial success.
In 2017 Leitch latched up with Atomic Blonde (2017), and followed that up with a successful sequel, Deadpool 2 (2018). His last two major motion pictures have been hit or miss in terms of critical and public acceptance. Personally, I think Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) has enough good things working for it to make it watchable, but fans of the Fast franchise tend to not count it. Bullet Train (2022) had massive promise, but an overcomplication of the plot ensured a mess of a finale.
So now we have The Fall Guy. Leitch making a movie about a stuntman down in the dumps given a seemingly impossible task…well that seems too good to be true. There is no denying that the man has a personal connection to the story, whether he wants to admit it or not.
Colt Seavers is the first major character in Leitch’s directorial filmography that isn’t a professional killing machine.
- Keanu Reeves as John Wick, a killer.
- Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton, a killer.
- Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, AKA Deadpool, a foul-mouthed killer.
- Dwayne Johnson as Hobbs, Jason Statham as Shaw and Idris Elba as Black Superman, all experienced killers.
- Brad Pitt as Ladybug, a tired killer.
Now, with that being said, the character of Colt Seavers does share much in common with more than a few of Leitch’s previous leads. Gosling playing the down-to-earth and unlikely hero is a trope that has worked in Leitch’s past projects. Think Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson. Was he a likely hero? Absolutely not. Think Ladybug from Bullet Train. Did he want to be in the middle of an assassin filled train? No, but did he find a way to get the job done? Yup.
Ryan Gosling is riding on a rocket ship ride now, and his seemingly endless supply of gas is sourced by universal praise and affection. The man can seemingly do nothing wrong. He is recently Oscar nominated for Barbie (2023), and while he didn’t win the award for Supporting Actor, Gosling still won the night. The performance of “I’m Just Ken” was easily the highlight of the night, and Gosling’s award presentation with fellow The Fall Guy star Emily Blunt was the best written intro segment of the whole show.
What can’t Ryan Gosling do?
The last action movie that Gosling was a part of was the disappointing Netflix original The Gray Man (2022). It was Gosling’s first movie after a four year hiatus, and everyone was left wanting. The Gray Man was directed by the Russo brothers, and the critically ill-received shindig was proof that the once vaunted directing duo lost their fastball. Gosling has now attached his name to David Leitch, who is looking for a bounceback himself after a few years of perceived disappointment.
Call me hopeful, but The Fall Guy has potential to be a massive spring success. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (possibly the new Bond), is back with Leitch after being part of the best aspect of Bullet Train with Brian Tyree Henry. Emily Blunt back in an action movie? Sure, sign me up. She doesn’t need to be the ass-kicker, but she’ll fit in just fine. And if the 96th Academy Awards are any indication, the chemistry between Gosling and Blue is going to work just fine.
A lesser part of The Fall Guy that I’m excited for are the Tropic Thunder (2008) vibes. It’s not egregious by any means. It’s not even prominent. But with that being said, the idea of a classic movie action hero with an absurd name going missing during the filming of a movie and a quest to get him back sounds all too familiar. We aren’t going to be getting any “What do you mean, you people?” moments in the Fall Guy, but over-the-top characters and unnecessarily explosive sequences seem to be in order. Count me in.
I will be the first to say that I have a tendency to poo-poo populist movies from time to time. It’s a trait I don’t love about myself. But The Fall Guy is winning me over. Ryan Gosling is winning me over. The promotion for the movie hasn’t been too offensively over-the-top, and having great star power at potentially its apex makes it a more curious adventure.
This is not going to be an Argyle (2023) debacle. That I will personally guarantee.
The Fall Guy releases into theaters a month from today, May 3, 2024.
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