«The Fall Guy» - Movie Review by Kinoafisha
Ryan Gosling in an ode to stuntmen that forgets about other aspects of cinema.
Director David Leitch is a relative newcomer to his career, having devoted most of his life to working as a stuntman. For a decade, starting with Fight Club, Leitch helped Brad Pitt shoot back at his future wife and knock out the bad guys. Plus a dozen more years in the understudies of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Matt Damon and as the main stunt director. Leitch is madly in love with his past work and therefore, having moved to the director's chair, continued to sing odes to her. His "John Wick", "Faster than a Bullet" and "Deadpool 2" are famous for the incredible choreography of the fight, so the picture, already entirely devoted to stunt work, was only a matter of time. Turning to the series of the same name in the 80s, Lit takes the idea of stuntmen moonlighting as bounty hunters and creates a new free presentation of it.
The famous Hollywood stuntman Colt Sievers, played by Ryan Gosling, lives his best life: he loves to perform tricks, and at the same time can squeeze his beloved Jody Moreno, who works as a cameraman, into a corner every working day. The only drawback is the unbearable character of the actor for whom he performs all the tricks — the most popular playboy Tom Ryder. It's brilliant, and therefore it's a shame that Aaron Taylor-Johnson's role is so tiny. In it, the actor finds a long-awaited use for his body, pumped up for "Kraven the Hunter", who still can't get to the big screens. Performing another trick for a vain star, Colt breaks his back. Disappointed in himself, the hero cuts off communication with the outside world for a year and a half.
He is forced out of the shadows by a producer who invites him to take part in the filming of Jody's directorial debut, the science fiction "Metalstorm" (a kind of "Mad Max" with an alien invasion). But arriving at the shooting, Colt discovers that his beloved is not yet ready to forgive him after such a long stay, and he has no one to duplicate at all — Tom Ryder is missing. To save the film, Colt has to go in search of the main star and apply his skills off the set.
Colt Sievers throws villains in all directions, breaks through absolutely every glass fence, flips over in cars, races boats and jumps on a helicopter. In comparison with these epic stunt works (one of them even entered the Guinness Book of Records — stuntman Logan Holladay turned over in a car 8 and a half times), a painfully typical action comedy unfolds on the screen.
Gosling, still imbued with Ken's energy, can be both a superhero and a vulnerable man crying under Taylor Swift. He is ready to show his chivalrous masculinity only if it brings him closer to the long-awaited kiss with Princess Emily Blunt. The chemistry between the characters is palpable, but not mesmerizing. It's all the fault of the downed rhythm, which is noticeably stretching the scenes, then running along the tops. Humor has the same problems. Well-aimed short jokes coexist with long-drawn gags.
While both in the film itself and outside of it, the creators are promoting the idea of awarding Oscar statuettes for stunt work, it's worth being something more than just a popcorn movie. The most fascinating scenes of the film take place on the set, when cables and a lot of people running with an inflatable trampoline behind a flying stuntman are visible. Immersion in this magic of cinema (and in fact the enormous work of a large team) could give the film the necessary weight. This could also be achieved by revealing the background of Colt Sievers, his path to the profession, and motivation. Leitch, on the other hand, deliberately creates a light summer movie, which, if it affects the American Film Academy, it is only thanks to the big names in the caste.
