Sometimes having hot actors and a $130 million budget isn’t enough…

“The Fall Guy” follows a career stuntman (Ryan Gosling) who sets out to locate the missing star of the movie he is shooting, which is being directed by his ex-girlfriend (Emily Blunt). Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, and Stephanie Hsu also star, as David Leitch (a former stuntman himself) directs.

Every David Leitch movie follows a pretty similar formula. Whether it be “Deadpool 2,” “Atomic Blonde,” or “Bullet Train,” you can safely assume his films will have attractive cast members, some well-staged action sequences, and a third act that long outwears its welcome. “The Fall Guy” is no different, as despite having two big name actors each coming off Oscar nominations in mega-hit films and some effective stunt work, “Fall Guy” is a weak start to the 2024 summer movie season.

I really like Ryan Gosling, he’s one of those actors I will make an effort to go see no matter what he’s in. I thought he was legitimately great as Ken in “Barbie,” so the idea of him and Emily Blunt (herself very deserving of her Academy Award nomination in “Oppenheimer”) sharing a blockbuster together seems like a no brainer on-paper. And to his credit, Gosling has some amusing moments as a sort-of himbo stunt guy, both in physical comedy and his line deliveries. However, despite what their press junkets and Oscars presentation would lead one to believe, the two share almost no chemistry in the actual film, and Blunt seems either miscast or misused. We are dropped into things where it is unclear how long the two have been dating or how serious they are, and the very next scene there is a time jump and they act like the world’s greatest romance ended, leaving the audience to fill in the gaps.

This is a problem that plagues the film as a whole: there is next to no momentum or sense of urgency. We jump from set piece to set piece without any real idea of where we are in the scheme of things or what the ultimate endgame is. Gosling is tasked with locating the film’s lead actor (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who seems to be having a little bit of fun), but we never get any real fleshed-out mystery or race-against-the-clock. Events kind of just, happen, with no propulsion or reason. All this builds to a third act that includes a giant “Barbie”-esque brawl and more random explosions than a Michael Bay joint.

Not that there aren’t some impressive stunts and action sequences in this, but the issue is so much of the editing is subpar. Things either cut too quick or hold too long, in both the action and comedy departments, and we don’t get the full scope of the work that Leitch and his team put in (during the credits they play behind-the-scenes looks at all the stunts, and the cannon rolls by cars and leaping off trucks by stuntmen are far more impressive there then in the polished finished product).

“The Fall Guy” is innocent enough, I wasn’t really bored and there is something inherently charming to me about movies that love movies. But it’s a shame, given the cast and the clear passion towards stunts the film has, that this simply wasn’t more entertaining. The jokes are pretty obvious and the plot is basic yet somehow convoluted, and I have already begun to have this fade from my memory. It’s officially summer and I will always suggest checking out big movies on the big screen, just don’t go into this thinking it’s anything like “Tropic Thunder” meets “John Wick.”

Critics Rating: 5/10