For a profession that has been integral to the movie industry from the very start, it’s kind of strange what little public attention stunt performers get. By design, their faces are rarely seen and despite a push by some big names in Hollywood, they have yet to get recognized in a category at the Academy Awards. If the new movie The Fall Guy has anything to say about it, that will soon change.

Inspired by the ‘80s TV show of the same name, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, a longtime stuntman who is currently the double for action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). As the film begins, he’s in a relationship with Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), a camera operator with aspirations to become a director one day. A freak accident puts Colt’s career on pause for a while, while Jody is given her big shot by producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham).

Soon enough, Colt is called back into service by Gail to help out on Jody’s sci-fi epic, Metal Storm, shooting in Australia. While he does get to show some of his stunt abilities on the film, he finds out that the real reason Gail asked for him is that Tom has gone missing after falling in with a criminal group, and she wants Colt to track Tom down. What ensues is a meta film in which a stunt man is asked to perform some real-life heroics while still hoping to get the girl in the end.

Directed by David Leitch and written by Drew Pearce, the film is totally ridiculous, sometimes in really good way and sometimes in a bad way. The meta-ness of the film starts right away, with the making of the films within the film being the focus, featuring plenty of references or allusions to the actual Hollywood industry and real stars. They have lots of fun in this respect, rarely passing by an opportunity to wink at the audience to let them know they’re in on the joke.

The stunts, of course, are the star of the show, and Leitch – a longtime stunt man/stunt coordinator – is the perfect person to showcase them in all their glory. However, instead of the near-constant action seen in Leitch films like Bullet Train or Deadpool 2, he goes for quality over quantity here. He also includes smaller moments that humorously comment on the fact that Colt is a stunt man doing “real” stunts, continuing the overall theme of the film.

It’s hard to have it all, though, and where the film falters is in its storytelling. While Gosling and Blunt have been a delight promoting the movie together at the Oscars and on SNL, their chemistry in the film is somewhat lacking. That’s mostly because Pearce never finds a way to make the audience truly invest in their characters’ relationship. Almost every other character is one-note, serving merely as vehicles to propel the film to the next big stunt sequence.

Prior to Barbie, it was safe to say that Gosling was in a lull in his career, but his charm in that film and this one have put him right back on top again. If a couple of line readings (“spicy margarita”) have him still in Ken mode, you can forgive him. Blunt is also good, but her role doesn’t give her quite as much to do as Gosling. Taylor-Johnson and Waddingham dial it up to 11 for their respective roles, an idea that works for Taylor-Johnson since he’s playing an action star, but doesn’t do Waddingham any favors (and neither does her odd wig).

The Fall Guy is a fun if imperfect film that does exactly what it was intended to do: Showcase the stunt community in all its glory. It would have been nice if the filmmakers had paid as much attention to the story as they did the action, but that probably would have gotten in the way of all of the explosions and fighting.

---

The Fall Guy opens in theaters on May 3.