After dazzling the Oscars with his live performance of “I’m Just Ken,” Ryan Gosling jetted to SXSW where he brought the house down again. This time, with his new movie The Fall Guy.
The David Leitch film reimagines the classic ’80s TV show with Gosling taking over the role of Colt Seavers from Lee Majors. Emily Blunt is along for the ride as Colt’s love interest, and based on the reviews coming out of the festival, the two leads have chemistry for days. On top of that, The Fall Guy is slam-bang tribute to the stunt performers who put it all on the line to make movies look badass.
You can see what the critics are saying below:
Peter Debruge, Variety:
“The Fall Guy” is funny, it’s sexy, and it features the boy’s-toy version of “Barbie” scene-stealer Ryan Gosling — which is to say, after playing a Ken doll, now he embodies the ultimate action figure. This is the charisma-radiating side of Gosling audiences love (as opposed to expressionless “Only God Forgives” Gosling), and though his character doesn’t have much depth, you could hardly wish for better casting.
Adrian Horton, The Guardian:
The Fall Guy, based on the 80s TV series, is an utterly charming, unpretentious rebuttal to the encroachment of digital effects in life and film (all due respect to VFX artists). It’s a celebration of blockbuster movies and their illusions of grandeur made by dozens and dozens of people working in concert, mostly below the line, and specifically the underappreciated work of stunt doubles. It’s also just a consistently good time, two hours of zingers with impeccable timing, two bona fide movie stars with palpable chemistry, several enjoyably meta send-ups of the business and, of course, plenty of crazy stunts.
Fletcher Peters, The Daily Beast:
It is incredibly refreshing to see a masculine action movie with fully developed female characters—workaholic Gail is as fun to watch as motor-mouthed sweetheart Jody. Blunt knocks it out of the enemies-to-lovers park, creating a rom-com leading lady as relatable as any of Meg Ryan’s famous roles—she’s nervous, she’s ambitious, she’s nervous about being ambitious. And of course Gosling meets her at the table on the rom-com parts of the film. That’s a given. Fans of any of Gosling’s romantic roles will swoon just as hard over The Fall Guy, which offers up a sizzling hot second-chance love story.
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter:
Leitch’s expertise and appreciation for stuntmen adds an endearing layer to the enjoyment of The Fall Guy, which premiered at SXSW. The director indulges in major and minor stunts, staging plenty of scenes with cars rolling over to escape exploding bombs and characters escaping chokeholds from people determined to kill them. In each of these moments, Leitch strikes a balance of showmanship and mechanics. He teaches audiences to appreciate the number of people it takes to pull off a car crash or a human torch stunt. The action sequences in The Fall Guy vary, but each one offers a level of gripping precision.
Katie Rife, IndieWire:
This is popcorn filmmaking at its most cheerful and enthusiastic, driven by cheeky needle drops (the KISS disco hit “I Was Made for Loving You” serves as an unofficial theme song), rousing action, and movie stars. It might not give Hollywood power players any more respect for the contributions of stunt performers and coordinators, but it does put a romantic spin on their work that will continue the public’s love affair with the profession. It also ensures that we’ll continue to see a lot of Ryan Gosling in the coming months, which is never a bad thing.
The Fall Guy opens in theaters on May 3.
