The Fall Guy (2022)

director: David Leitch
release-year: 2022
genres: action, comedy
countries: USA
languages: English

You know how sometimes you want the stupid over-the-top mega-action of Mad Max, but you also don't want to have to watch a stupid Mad Max? The Fall Guy is a stupid over-the-top mega-action comedy about how bad Mad Max is, which serves like a fictional Mad Max behind-the-scenes, and features a real The Fall Guy behind-the-scenes during the credits of The Fall Guy for a fictionally-true behind-the-behind-the-scenes inception.

Ryan Gosling gives his film one thumbs up.

Since it's a movie about doing your own stunts, they did, in fact, do their own stunts. But it's also a movie about making super-CGI-bullshit, so they did, in fact, do their own super-CGI-bullshit. It doesn't leave you wondering "what's real," because nothing is real, but it often leaves you wondering "which particular type of unreal is this?" Usually it's doubly-unreal, which is double the fun.

But everything is really unreal.

Cool stunt guy Colt does all the stunts for very uncool actor/model Tom, and dates the camera girl. Colt breaks his back in a stunt gone wrong and disappears into a deep well of isolating depression, abandoning his career and girl.

Stunt guys give everything a thumbs up.

He's tricked out of retirement to work on his girl's directorial debut in Australia, some Mad Max-Dune bullshit. She is also tricked, as she doesn't know he's coming and is mad at him for disappearing into a depression hole.

She sets him on fire a few times in protest.

While they slowly rekindle their romance through megaphones and cool action stunts, Colt gets sucked into a murder mystery to locate Tom, the guy he's supposed to be doubling for but who isn't actually around.

He starts with a drugged-out neon fight at the actor's favorite nightclub.

It's more murdery than he expected.

But he can't be certain because he was on a lot of drugs.

Each leg of the murder mystery requires Colt to do a bunch of cool action stunts.

That's why you hire a stunt man.

In the mean time, he discusses the plot of his ex-girlfriend's movie with her, which is simultaneously also the plot of the movie you are actively watching.

It's like a metaphor, man.

Action-packed up-tempo 80s rock plays the whole time.

and Taylor Swift.

Stuff blows up.

And cars flip.

It turns out Tom and his producer are evil villains who brought Colt in specifically to frame him for all of the murders and stuff.

Though they really could have framed anyone. It seems a bit unnecessary to fly someone in.

But Colt defeats them via cool action stunts.

With the help of a cool action stunt team.

And he gets the girl.

via cool action stunts.