‘The Fall Guy' is A Highly Stylized, Dumb and Empty Exercise in Meta-Action [Review]

The old saying goes that during Hollywood’s summer movie season, it’s best to leave your brain at the door before entering the theater. David Leitch’s “The Fall Guy” is the absolute perfect example of that mantra. There’s barely a brain cell in its bones. Either you suspend disbelief and go along for the ride, or much like I did, you don’t.

A loose remake of the ‘80s TV series, starring Lee Majors, “The Fall Guy” has Ryan Gosling’s Colt Seavers, a battered and past-his-prime stuntman, hired as the double of a major Hollywood actor, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Colt has a major crush, and ensuing fling, with the film’s director (played by Emily Blunt). However, things get a little sticky when Ryder disappears and Seavers is tasked in finding him.

At first, the film catches your attention, as Colt goes looking for Ryder. He uncovers a labyrinthine conspiracy that felt like something out of Shane Black’s noir comedy, “The Nice Guys.” However, Leitch can’t help himself. He’s all about mayhem. He desperately needs to infuse the film with over-the-top action, and that turned me off completely. As the high octane set pieces piled up, I felt pummeled by the film’s relentless nature.

It slightly helps that the best moments in ‘Fall Guy’ lie in the romantic banter, flirting, between Gosling and Blunt. It’s charming. They’re in love with each other but can’t seem to fully embrace the mutual attraction. I wanted more of that. However, Leitch, filmmaker that he is, wants more action.

If you’re familiar with Leitch’s past work (“John Wick,” “Deadpool 2,” “Hobbs & Shaw,” “Bullet Train",” “Atomic Blonde”) then ‘Fall Guy’ will either dissuade or persuade you into going to see it. They all have the same tone: half-assed and self-congratulatory.

My refusal to submit to Leitch’s brand of action-packed cinema, marketed as an ode to stuntmen, led to a mind-numbing 126-minute experience, that fell flat on its behind, from one set-piece to the next, without much logic to its storytelling. This is a film that’s also highly stylized and choreographed, to a tee. It’s not cinematic as much as just devoid of any kind of humane traits.

There are also these nauseating and repetitive winks at the audience. This is a film that is madly in love with itself. Sure, some of the stuntwork is strong, but the script is filled with total and utter nonsense. There’s gag after gag, without much payoff. It all amounts to an empty exercise in style. [C]