The Fall Guy is an uncomplicated ode to the stuntman

We regularly lionize and laud the actors, directors, and writers — the public faces — of our favorite films. Rarely, however, are the plethora of other vital roles, all of which contribute to the final picture, given recognition or praise beyond the closing credits.

Unique among these is the role of the stuntman. Unless you’re a cinematographer on set with Alec Baldwin, few jobs involve performing death-defying feats only to have the star take all the credit. These dangerous escapades form the basis for David Leitch’s latest film, The Fall Guy.

Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a slick stuntman for world-famous action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). It is a testament to Gosling’s natural charisma and unrivaled comedic timing that he glaringly subdues his own performance to make it seem believable that he plays second fiddle to Taylor-Johnson — unsuccessfully, as Gosling nevertheless dominates every scene in which he appears.  

Alongside Seavers is Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), a budding director vying to make her first motion picture, a parody of a big-budget blockbuster. Effectively a film within a film, Fall Guy is intended to be a serenade to the stuntman.

The movie conveys some of the chaos and confusion that beleaguers film sets, such as unreliable pyrotechnics, and otherwise cuts from one large set piece to another without much concern for pacing or continuity.

Premised on the idea of an actor playing a stuntman who has his stunts performed by a stuntman, the film isn’t intended to be taken too seriously. The dialogue generally feels as though it was also written by the stuntman; Seavers and Moreno, making up the film’s perfunctory romantic arc, share little chemistry as a couple. And among the litany of jokes riddled throughout the screenplay, some stick the landing while others fall flat. But the elaborate car chases and boat chases, plethora of choreographed fights, and helicopter antics steal the show.

Following an on-set accident, Seavers second-guesses his erstwhile invincibility and becomes a recluse, resigning from the industry. It is only when Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), a ruthless producer, tracks him down and offers him a chance at returning to the industry and reuniting with his estranged muse, Moreno, that the plot picks up. Unbeknownst to Seavers, his star double Ryder, plagued by drug addiction and hounded by crooks, has mysteriously disappeared, leaving Seavers to track Ryder down in time to finish shooting the film.

Throughout Fall Guy there is also a lament for the more traditional, analog filmmaking that Leitch grew up seeing. “There’s no trick to getting hit by a car,” explains one of the stuntmen in the film. “You’re just getting hit by a car.” Though not a direct remake, the film is loosely inspired by an ’80s series of the same name.

The wistful throwback to this simpler era before Hollywood became suffused with CGI and grating politics is among the most compelling aspects of the film. There is one memorable scene toward the end where the producer, Gail Meyer, upon being discovered to be a psychopathic villain, implores Moreno, “Let’s just leave Hollywood and all this toxic masculinity. We don’t need this.”

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Emily Blunt’s character responds with a resolute left hook into her chin. Not dissimilar from her 2022 Variety interview where she railed against the strong female lead cliche: “It’s the worst thing ever when you open a script and read the words ‘strong female lead.’ That makes me roll my eyes. I’m already out.”

Stuntmen have deservedly been gaining more recognition in recent years: from Tarantino’s 2019 Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood to the entire John Wick franchise, created by stuntman Chad Stahelski, to Tom Cruise loudly championing authentic stunts. Fall Guy is a fun and uncomplicated ballad to the men with the courage to light themselves on fire, leap into and out of moving cars, and everything else we were conditioned and explicitly taught not to try at home; they are the ones who, as Tom Wolfe would say, have the right stuff.

Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a computer engineer in Toronto, pursuing his MBA.