A down-and-out stuntman must find the missing star of his ex-girlfriend’s blockbuster film.

A loose remake of the 1980s American TV show about stunt performers, ‘The Fall Guy’ marks Ryan Gosling’s first movie since receiving an Oscar nomination for playing Ken in ‘Barbie’. Directed by stunt performer turned director David Leitch, the premise follows Colt Seavers (Gosling), a Hollywood stuntman who finds himself caught up in a conspiracy involving the lead actor who he regularly doubles for. This all takes place in Australia, where Seavers has gone to perform stunts in the directorial debut of his former girlfriend, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), after he’d cut off contact with her a year earlier when he suffered a severe injury on a previous movie.

The movie is an action comedy which means lots of car chases and fight sequences, with some splashes of comedy thrown in. You could say there’s nothing really original here and there isn’t, but Gosling and Blunt have strong chemistry and it is enjoyable watching them do their thing on screen together. Gosling has made one action comedy before in the excellent, underrated ‘The Nice Guys’ (with Russell Crowe), and he is pretty perfect for this material, both at home with the comedic and action aspects of the role (not to mention the romantic!). Blunt is also good fun and there are good supporting performances from Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Hannah Waddingham in particular in a more villainous role.

From a directing perspective, Leitch doesn’t cut as loose as you’d perhaps have hoped from a guy who helped to make ‘John Wick’, but there is fun to be had here – not least because of the emphasis on actual stunts and practical effects which stand out vs the CGI laden movies we’ve became accustomed too. Don’t expect anything to blow you away in ‘The Fall Guy’, but if you’re in the mood for a solid action comedy with well matched leads, you’ve come to the right place.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: David Leitch

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke and Teresa Palmer

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1684562/