PREMISE
A down-and-out stuntman must find the missing star of his ex-girlfriend’s blockbuster film.
THE GOOD STUFF
RYAN F****** GOSLING- Simply put… Between today and May 3rd, 2014, it can be safely said that there is not one movie star on Earth that has had a more impressive 10-year run than Ryan Gosling. I don’t think it’s speaking in hyperbole at all to say that the man is the biggest movie star on Earth right now. Seriously. The versatility that has been shown in everything that he has starred in since 2014 is something to behold…
*The Big Short
*La La Land
*First man
*The nice guys
*The Gray Man
*Blade runner 2049
*Barbie
…. And the Fall Guy.
That run of consistency does not end with this movie. He is just as funny as he’s ever been, and the comedy that he does here is so much more physical than the three comedies that I’ve previously mentioned.
The one thing that seemed to be the somewhat weak spot in his repertoire was being an action star. Although he was good in the gray man, I do think that movie took itself a little bit too seriously. Not here. Even when the jokes don’t land that well, you’re still curious to see where he’s going to take you. The one thing that Gosling doesn’t have is a character in a franchise. I think this one can be the one, honestly.
DAVID LEITCH- I don’t know if the word “breakout” could be used to describe David Leitch at all. He’s been around for quite some time now. However, the one thing I will say is that he is making damn good tent-pole-level action comedies in his sleep at this point, and all of them are great. Leitch somehow has become a model of consistency who is never name-checked when it comes to the conversation of who the best directors out are right now.
It’s about time we started giving that man his respect. The man was once a stuntman back in the day. I can’t help but feel that this may have been a passion project of his. Bravo.
THE ACTION- There seems to be this really wonderful balance of slapstick comedy in every action sequence that’s in this movie. It is bloodless, wildly over-the-top, fast franchise-like action that is completely cartoonish in nature. The film manages to get very meta in acknowledging how ridiculous the situations are that they are in, and somehow the movie manages to make that work without it seeming forced.
THE BAD STUFF
CGI- Although I can acknowledge that all of the action is done in a very meta way, I also acknowledge that the whole story is silly and tongue-in-cheek, and acknowledge that this is something that wants to be a comedy first and foremost… I got to say, the CGI is hit-or-miss. It’s not too much of a complaint here because the CGI in this movie may look campy (and at times…kind of choppy) by design. I’ll kinda give them the benefit of the doubt on that.
But it is a summer movie people. We have standards around here don’t we when it comes to this sort of thing?
THE…TWIST?- I’ve watched the trailer to this movie a couple of times, and I’ve asked myself if the trailer flat out and gives away the twist of this movie…and I think it kind of does. By the end of the first act, the movie is practically telling you the twist that the trailer is barely teasing. In fact, I would say this type of twist is something that a common moviegoer has seen a million times up until this point, and by the end of the first act, you too will be able to guess what that twist is.
THE UGLY STUFF
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By this point, we’ve been so inundated with superhero movies around this time of year that it seems kind of unimaginable for something the likes of THE FALL GUY to open up the summer. And I kind of like that. This very much fits the mold for a summer movie in a very old-school kind of way.
I’m all for star vehicles making a major comeback and this is a positive step in the right direction.
THE FALL GUY is in theaters now
