The Fall Guy
Year: 2024
Rating: PG-13
Length: 126 minutes / 2.10 hours
I have a bit of a soft spot for movies that focus on the creative act of making movies. Most of the time, these “behind the scenes” films focus on the more managerial aspects of movies. In The Fall Guy (2024), there’s a fun meta that ties together stunts for the movie being made and stunts in the “real world” that may bring down the entire production. As a pseudo-heist movie, The Fall Guy is a fun action romp that I found entertaining and educational.
Anyone who has seen Ryan Gosling in Barbie (2023) knows that he has the comedic chops to hold up his side of a film. Honestly, he was the main reason I wanted to see this film, as I was expecting “Ken” levels of machismo, but with maybe a little more intelligence. Gosling definitely delivers, and this is a great film to watch for fans of his work. Emily Blunt is good as well, but so much of the plot is focused on Gosling’s dive into a big conspiracy that ends up being much more entertaining than the interpersonal play between his character and Blunt’s director role.
For a movie about stuntmen and the stunts they perform, there was a lot of interesting information about this process that made its way onto the screen. It’s always interesting to see how Hollywood does practical effects, and this movie plays up that aspect by showing that for the in-film movie, but also at moments where there are scenarios not captured for this meta film-making project. If anything, this film should give you an honest appreciation for all the work that goes into action films. Especially the work by all the talented stuntmen.
A fun action movie filled with stunts on and off screen, I give The Fall Guy 4.0 stars out of 5.
