I can think of few people more qualified to make a movie about a stuntman than David Leitch, who worked for years as a stuntman and stunt coordinator before moving into directing films like Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Bullet Train. Here he’s cast Ryan Gosling as his central stuntman, who must become an actual hero to find the actor he doubles for and save the movie he’s working on. Factor in Emily Blunt, Winston Duke, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, and Stephanie Hsu as the rest of the main cast, and you have a pretty appealing package.
It’s The Fall Guy, based on the old TV series about a stuntman turned bounty hunter that I am guessing most people in the audience today will not have seen. (I certainly haven’t.) I think for most people the appeal is going to be less that it’s based on a TV show than the charisma of Gosling — who previously played a stuntman in Drive — and Blunt and what looks to be a ton of wild stunts befitting the premise. Take a look at the trailer below:
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Here is the film’s official synopsis:
Oscar® nominee Ryan Gosling (Barbie, La La Land, Drive) stars as Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman who, having left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—being directed by his ex, Jody Moreno, played by Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place films, Sicario)—goes missing. While the film’s ruthless producer (Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham; Ted Lasso), maneuvers to keep the disappearance of star Tom Ryder (Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson; Bullet Train) a secret from the studio and the media, Colt performs the film’s most outrageous stunts while trying (with limited success) to charm his way back into Jody’s good graces. But as the mystery around the missing star deepens, Colt will find himself ensnared in a sinister, criminal plot that will push him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.
The Fall Guy is scheduled to open in theaters on March 1. In the meantime, if you’ve never seen Hooper with Burt Reynolds, that is a movie you should watch.
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