'The Fall Guy (2024)', a loose reimagining of the television show of the same name, is David Leitch's ode to stunt work and the unsung heroes behind so many of our favourite movie moments (as well as his own stunt team). It's also his best film since his uncredited work on 'John Wick (2014)' for the simple reason that it's a ton of fun. Although its plot has some notable inconsistencies and contrivances, it keeps you engaged throughout and provides ample opportunity for the mixture of action and comedy that acts as the core of the affair. Ryan Gosling's infinite charisma, alongside his palpable chemistry with the great but arguably underused Emily Blunt, allows the feature to float high above its issues; you don't even notice most of its problems until you get home. The crime caper aspects of the narrative often feel like they're getting in the way of the more interesting on-set stunt stuff, and there's definitely a superior version of this that focuses entirely on Gosling and Blunt's rekindling romance amidst the latter's frantic efforts to shoot her sci-fi epic as practically as possible. Still, both sides of the coin are enjoyable. This is the sort of movie that, in a way, shouldn't be as good as it is. It's the sort of thing we've all seen before and probably not liked very much, but here it's been done with so much passion and is generally so well achieved that it just soars above expectation. It's really, really entertaining. It may be predictable, feel-good blockbuster fluff, but sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered.
Review of The Fall Guy
