The Fall Guy: The Extended Cut

There is nothing appealing about the movie: The Fall Guy. Nothing original. Nothing interesting. It’s a glossy action comedy that cares very little for its own plot and even less for making any kind of logical sense. But, damn if it doesn’t put a pair of incredibly charismatic, well-matched and entertaining stars in your face. I could sit there for two-and-a-half hours watching Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt just kind of fucking around and bantering with one another. I don’t need the explosions. And the incredibly dumb narrative that is bad as they are good. In fact, they could have just scrubbed the murder mystery-ish nonsense and just made a movie about the world’s best stunt man trying to work on a film directed by his ex-girlfriend while trying to rekindle their romance. Go full romantic comedy with it, make it 90 minutes and save yourself a ton of expense and dumb violence. Seriously… every time you want to punch, stab or shoot someone, write in some fun quips or even a fun prat fall. Go full early 2000s rom-com!

I don’t often use the word “bloat” when it comes to movies, but I truly don’t think we needed an “Extended Cut” of this thing. I don’t really know what was in the original non-extended version, but I’m sure that too was bloated. Scenes go on way too long. Colt Seavers (Gosling — and the name of the original Lee Majors character) is drugged at one point and seems to be high for half the movie (except when he’s mysteriously not) but I think that’s just one incredibly elongated scene that lasts longer than most children’s films from the 80s. And, of course, most of the scenes are stuffed with stunts. Which I get. It is a movie about a stuntman, after all. And I appreciate this is supposed to be some sort of love letter to those in the profession… but did we need a $150 million letter? I don’t know. Point is, the director, David Leitch, is a maximalist. He loves technicolor action, tons of set pieces, explosions and verging-on-absurdist fight scenes. Honestly, some are pretty damn cool. The jaw-dropping Charlize battle in the apartment building in Atomic Blonde comes to mind. But a lot of his movies seem like a series of set pieces connected by the flimsiest of unmemorable plot and silly dialogue.

And that’s where this movie differs. It’s those scenes between the scenes that are actually the best part. Sure, there are some fun punches and stuff, and we all get that the jerkass action star is stand-in for Tom Cruise. Har har. But, again, I just want to see Gosling and Blunt being cute together. And that’s not really a directing thing or a writing thing. That’s just starpower. And, yes, I saw Barbie. It was fun. But that was Gosling playing a character. His Colt is a mix of the great 40s black and white banter machines with way less misogyny and way more 2024 self-deprecation. And I forget how great Blunt is. In fact, this film has elements of another of her terrific vehicles, Edge of Tomorrow. What am I ultimately trying to say? The movie has some fun elements. It’s a decent background watch. In fact, you could even view it with the sound off and just kind of admire the two stars act with their comely faces.