Cast:
Ryan Gosling (Colt Seavers), Emily Blunt (Jody Moreno), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Tom Ryder), Winston Duke (Dan Tucker), Hannah Waddingham (Gail Meyer), Teresa Palmer (Iggy Starr), and Stephanie Hsu (Alma Milan) Directed by David Leitch (#905 - John Wick, #978 - Atomic Blonde, #1087 - Deadpool 2)
Review:
Sure, one may know that there was once a television series called The Fall Guy. But it is fun to do a brief history lesson anyway, so screw it; airing from 1981 to 1986, the show was originally created by Glen A. Larson (the same guy behind such television shows such as the original Battlestar Galactica) that had Lee Majors as the star involving a stuntman that moonlighted as a bounty hunter, with Douglas Barr and Heather Thomas as supporting presences. But the screenplay for this film (as done by Drew Pearce, who previously co-worked on the script of Leitch's Hobbs & Shaw [2019]) isn't really a straight-show adaptation as it is a film in the tradition of loose TV adaptations such as say, Mission: Impossible (1996). Of course, this is the kind of thing that can be interesting to encounter beyond just going for the cynical angle. In the land of adapting various shows or the toy next to oneself for a film, development for trying to make said movie had been in stasis for over ten years before eventually there were rumblings of "unnamed stuntman film" being worked on by David Leitch (who had been a stuntman for a decade before becoming involved in second unit work and eventually films such as Confessions of an Action Star [2005] and John Wick [2014]) to go with Ryan Gosling as star around the 2020s. Apparently, it was Gosling and Blunt who took inspiration from Leitch and his producer wife when it came to their romantic chemistry together.
Really this is more of a case of a charming romcom that happens to be an action film just as well for 126 minutes. It doesn't take too long to find the film as being fairly accomplished in charm that would be right at home to go along the shelf with Hooper (1978) when it comes to charm that I appreciate greatly in making one appreciate the very nature that comes to making movie magic, albeit without being as much of a "good ol' boy" type of arrangement. You get both a playful film with cannon rolls by a car and a few action sequences that doesn't seem to just be a CG screen plaything (or a deepfake, as they say). Gosling pulls off a tremendous performance in the delicate art of refreshing charm seemingly without having to make that much effort to do so. He has a breezy state to him that seems to just coast onto whatever type of encounter is thrust upon him (the narration delivered by him at times is give-or-take when it comes to things, but I go with it), and it seems to work best when paired with Blunt because of how they interact with each other that feels real. Predictable or not, it is the kind of comfort one likes to see in films that aren't necessarily just straight action films, and I'd rather have a familiar charmer anytime. Blunt apparently took her inspiration from people she had met such as Greta Gerwig when it came to playing a would-be director that handles her role with consistent grace and tenacity, probably best represented by a scene in which she utilizes the "script" to make a conversation with a recently reunited Gosling on the set that is the kind of neat chuckle to absorb. The movie utilizes a carefully crafted ensemble of a few good presences that go right down to Taylor-Johnson and his amusing daft nature that works best for the climax to go with a tremendously amusing Waddingham crafted for those who love to believe that suckers really are born every minute. Duke makes an entertaining presence to go alongside Gosling as the film gets going. The movie maneuvers itself well to achieving the shot and chaser for entertaining action that does show a few laughs to make a fun routine time without dragging itself to being too hip in awareness or self-seriously dry. As a whole, I like its approach with some worthwhile practical stunts to go with clear energy shown for the craft of filmmaking that is fit for any era but seemingly more so now more than ever because it is a feature made straight for the love of seeing people kicking other people in the ass on an ideally large screen (home or otherwise).
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
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