A skilled stuntman, Colt Seavers serves as the understudy for Tom Ryder, a huge action film star and consummate narcissist. After a serious professional accident, Colt agrees to return to service on the first film directed by his ex, Jody Moreno, whom he hopes to win back. However, Colt has barely set foot on the set when he finds himself plunged into a dark murder case linked to the alarming disappearance of Tom Ryder. Homage to the riskiest profession of cinema, The Fall Guy (The stuntman) makes a lot of mileage on the charisma of Ryan Gosling, still crowned by his Oscar nomination for barbie.
A comedy that is both satirical and action, this fifth solo production by David Leitch, behind notably Atomic Blond (Atomic Blonde), Deadpool 2 And Bullet Train (High-speed train), is also intended to be romantic, with accents of yesteryear’s film noir. The result is nice, but not always conclusive (for a brilliant counterexample, see the cult The Stunt Man/The devil in a boxby Richard Rush, about a prison escapee who becomes a prisoner on a film set after posing as a stuntman).
Loosely inspired by a series from the 1980s, the screenplay by Drew Pearce, who wrote that of Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw (Fast and Furious — Hobbs and Shaw), also directed by David Leitch, tends to stretch the humor department, diluting its best comic finds (this hallucinated unicorn, this coffee that Colt never manages to drink). The identity of the “bad guys” is also too easy to guess.
In the romance section, Jody’s character is underwritten and revolves exclusively around Colt: Jody is furious with Colt, Jody falls under Colt’s spell again, Jody helps Colt get out of it… For an actress of Emily’s caliber Blunt is very little. Never mind, the star of The Devil Wears Prada (The devil wears Prada), Sicario And Jungle Cruise (Jungle cruise), delivers each line with his customary zest, enhancing several dialogues at the same time.
Moreover, speaking of lines, Pearce listens to his dialogue – hence the half hour too long – and obviously finds himself very funny. In all honesty, it sometimes is, but the meta verve, based on a profusion of cinematographic references, too often resembles sub-Tarantino.
Style and panache
Where the film scores big is in its numerous and very impressive action sequences, whether it’s a skillfully choreographed shootout in a villa, an explosive nautical chase, or a hectic car chase (the film holds a Guinness record for the most rolls).
Well versed in the imperatives of such bravura pieces, Leitch stages it all with style and panache, although in the matter, Atomic Blond remains his best achievement. There are some particularly ingenious passages, such as this telephone exchange between Jody and Colt, where the former questions the relevance of using the split-screen technique (split screen) in his film. And the screen is shared before our eyes between the former lovers, while their discussion concerning the characters of the film within the film, echoes their own situation…
In this regard, Gosling and Blunt share a certain complicity, and The Fall Guy did a lot of mileage on that too. Between two barrels.
The stuntman (The Fall Guy)
★★ 1/2
Satirical comedy by David Leitch. Screenplay by Drew Pearce. With Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham, Aaron Taylor-Johnson. United States, 2024, 126 minutes. Indoors.
The film The Fall Guy hits theaters on May 3.