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The Fall Guy – Film Review

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Winston Duke, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu, Teresa Palmer

Director: David Leitch

Synopsis: A battle-scarred stuntman is recruited to save the production of a big blockbuster movie after its star goes missing…

Review: You might not know their names, (unless they go by the name of Tom Cruise), but some of the best action scenes in cinema history simply would not have been possible without the incredible feats of countless bravery from stunt performers. These courageous men and women, risk life and limb for the purposes of the audiences’ entertainment. Yet their incredible accomplishments have so far not been their dues by major award shows. While one can only hope that one day, that becomes a reality, the latest film from stuntman-turned-director David Leitch serves as a delightfully funny and brilliantly entertaining acknowledgement of the bravery of these professionals and their craft.

Colt Seavers (Gosling) is an experienced and battle-scarred stuntman who has worked as the stunt double for movie star Tom Ryder (Taylor-Johnson) for several years. One day, while working on set, Colt has a serious accident, and suffers a severe injury. This causes Colt to nurse his wounds, cease all contact with his co-workers and camera operator girlfriend Jody (Blunt), and hide away from the world. However, after a lengthy period away, Colt is called by executive producer Gail (Waddingham) and tasked to resume his stuntman duties, but also to save the production of Jody’s directorial debut Metal Storm, after Ryder has been reported missing.

Loosely based on the 1980s TV show of the same name, Drew Pearce’s screenplay is filled to the brim with witty meta-commentary of an inside look at the movie business. As well as being a tribute to the incredible bravery of stunt performers, it takes a look at what goes on behind the scenes of big-budget motion pictures, the decisions directors and studio executives may have to face when assembling such a massive blockbuster, and the efforts to which studios will go to secure the keynote spot at a certain flagship comic con to promote the film. On top of all this, it brings a sense of mystery to it as Colt must investigate the circumstances surrounding Ryder’s disappearance, which shall not be spoiled here but suffice to say, Colt certainly gets more than he bargained for.

Hot on the heels of his Oscar-nominated, scene-stealing performance as Ken in last year’s smash hit Barbie, Gosling once again combines charm, charisma and scorching good looks in his performance. There truly is nothing this man cannot do. Having worked so tremendously as one half of a hilarious double act in The Nice Guys, this is a further demonstration of his wonderful comedic talents (and endless bouts of Kenergy). Aside from Gosling’s committed and hilarious performance, a key component of what makes the humour so effective is the sizzling hot chemistry he shares with Emily Blunt’s Jody, a further demonstration of the lasting power of the Barbenheimer phenomenon. Jody, who is understandably not best pleased about Colt’s decision to isolate himself away from her after his accident, has enormous fun in the methods she chooses in her capacity as the director to get back at him for ghosting her and effectively ending their relationship.

After charming audiences for three seasons as the initially reluctant owner of a football club in Ted Lasso, Hannah Waddingham is having the time of her life as Metal Storm‘s executive producer and threatens to run away with the entire show. Spending the majority of its runtime on Colt and Jody’s dynamic as ex-boyfriend/girlfriend and stuntman/director, and the secretive efforts of Colt and Gail to find the missing movie star, results in the rest of the cast getting very little screentime. Fittingly, for a film giving these stunt performers their dues, what does have a lasting impact is the stunt work on display. Leitch and this incredible team of stunt performers go all out to accomplish remarkable stunts, all captured in camera with no hint of CGI trickery. From a gripping car chase across Sydney’s streets, to Colt being forced to do the same stunt repeatedly for multiple takes, as well as perhaps the most impressive stunt of them all, the breaking of a record for the amount of car flips that was once held by Casino Royale. James Bond, eat your heart out.

While the ensuing hi-jinks of the mission to find Ryder have no shortage of entertaining and comedic moments, it does begin to run a little out of steam towards the end due to a severely overstretched plot. However, the journey of getting there more than makes up for it. Audiences owe these stunt professionals so much for their fearlessness and dedication for as long as cinema has been around, and one can hope this finally cajoles the industry into giving them the long overdue awards and recognition they deserve.

A joyous and entertaining fusion of action, comedy and romance, with electric chemistry between its bona fide movie star leads ensures The Fall Guy is a non-stop blast of fun and a sincere love letter to the stunt community.

Hacksaw Ridge – Film Review

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving, Teresa Palmer, Luke Bracey, Vince Vaughn, Rachel Griffiths

Director: Mel Gibson

Synopsis: Telling the incredible true story of Desmond Doss, a Devout Christian who signs up for the US Army and serves as a medic in the heart of World War II, all while refusing to carry a gun.

Review: For many of us, the horrors of war are something we are all too familiar with. From learning about terrible wars of the past to the brutal wars of the present, war is rarely anything other than a very dark time for humanity. Yet undoubtedly in such dark times, acts of incredible bravery and selflessness are committed, and for director Mel Gibson, the telling of one remarkable true story is in many ways his redemption, and a superb return to form for a man who it would be fair to say had something of a fall from grace, never being too far away from controversy.

Yet, despite all that controversy, Gibson has come out fighting with his first stint in the director’s chair after directing 2006’s Apocalypto. Set in the heart of Japan in 1945, the USA is battling the Japanese at the Battle of Okinawa and after some troubling times with his training Desmond Doss enters the fray of war, and never fires a single shot or carries a gun. It seems such a ludicrous decision to enter the hell of war without anything to protect yourself but the screenplay, penned by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan helps you understand where Doss is coming from, he’s a man who resolutely sticks to his principles. His superhero days may be behind him, but with this performance and his sterling work in Silence, Garfield is showing himself to be a tremendous actor and his performance is extremely powerful, ensuring a well earned Oscar nomination as well.

Garfield is the leading light of an extremely well polished cast, that includes Hugo Weaving as Doss’s alcoholic father who witnessed the devastation of World War I and is loathed to lose his sons to the horror of warfare. Teresa Palmer is equally excellent as Doss’s love interest Dorothy. The scenes between the two could have been a real stumbling block and detriment to the plot, but the chemistry between Garfield and Palmer is superb and their romance is far from a hindrance, instead adding real depth to Doss’s character. Vince Vaughn also turns in an excellent performance as Doss’s stern Sergeant who certainly does his best to add the humour while all of the recruits undergo some intense army training. At the same time, all the new recruits look down on Doss for his beliefs, and make his life a hell on Earth, and this is before they are even in reach of the war zone.

For Gibson, a nomination for Best Director might have seemed far-fetched but his work here is extremely deserving of a nomination. He helms the film superbly well, the action is extremely tense to watch and the work that he achieves, along with his sound team, fully capture what it must be like to be in the middle of a war zone. The film’s editing also helps add to the gritty realism. The violence is not glorified in the slightest, it’s just very frighteningly realistic. Be under no doubt, this is not a film for the squeamish, the bullets fly by their thousands and the blood and guts flow. Yet through all of this, the film shows to the audience that it can really pay to stick by your principles, even if everyone is trying to belittle you for holding on to those beliefs.

Though this is for all for all intents and purposes a war film, the themes of anti-war and pacifism are strong, as well as being true to one’s beliefs, and the themes and messages that the film conveys should hit home with the audience and leave a lasting impression on them. War certainly is hell, but the actions of brave men like Desmond Doss should and will hopefully never be forgotten. Furthermore, they can serve as a great lesson for all, of the true valour of bravery and heroism, even in the most desperate and hopeless of situations.

An explosive, and quite brilliant return to the director’s chair for Gibson, with Garfield giving arguably the performance of his career, and just maybe the best war movie of the 2010s thus far.