The Fall Guy 2024
This seemed like a good movie from the previews and then critical reviews were very strong, so I was happy to see it on opening week. Ryan Gosling is fresh off his turn as Ken in Barbie and Emily Blunt was the leading lady of Oppenheimer, so another interesting pairing of those two movies. The first weekend's box office was a little weak despite all of that. Maybe The Fall Guy TV series just doesn't resonate anymore. The movie has its charms, mostly a comedy with some romance, and a lot of stunts, plus some crime. While it mostly works, the script probably needed some work and I think there are too many people doing over the top characters and not enough people playing it straight. The movie sometimes seems self aware which comes off smug. While it is about a stunt man and a showcase for stunts, some of the stunts seemed a little lame, like two people fighting in a sideways dumpster being dragged by a truck. It just seemed like nonsense. Also, when I bought the ticket I didn't realize this showing had open captions, meaning it was subtitled, which is annoying and hard not to read the caption in advance of the dialog. I will know next time to avoid showings like that. It is still a fun movie, enjoyable enough, but also immediately forgettable.
Written: 07 May 2024