The Fall Guy was recently screened at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, allowing for a fresh round of reviews following the film's premiere at world premiere at SXSW on March 12, 2024.
With more eyeballs on the film, is the consensus still that Universal has a winner on its hands?
The JoBlo Movie Network gave the film a positive review, writing, "A wildly entertaining love letter to the stunt industry grounded by megawatt chemistry between stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt."
IGN rated the film 7/10, writing "It's wanting in some regards, but for an action-comedy that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the film industry, its charisma and chemistry are just enough. The Fall Guy might be Gosling's most accomplished comedic work yet."
Deadline raved about the film's humor, writing, "The Fall Guy stands as a hilarious and thoughtful tribute to the stunt community, blending action with a poignant exploration of the sacrifices made by these unsung heroes."
Rolling Stone wrote, "The Fall Guy feels indistinguishable from the dozens of other action films. And then Gosling and Blunt start flirting and fighting and verbally feinting with each other, and you feel like you’re floating an inch above your seat."
Currently, The Fall Guy sits at an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average critic's score of 7.8 out of 10.
The film carries a $125M production budget so accounting for film P&A costs and theater revenue split with cinema owners, the pic will need to earn around $370 million worldwide to break even.
The consensus seems to be that Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt elevate the material into something far better than what it should be and that's sure to make studio execs happy as that justifies their high price tags.
The Fall Guy director David Leitch (Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde), has stated that if a large enough audience turns up in theaters when the film premieres in May, he intends to move forward with creating a film franchise out of the remake.
Speaking to Total Film, Leitch stated, "I know I want to go on a journey with these characters for multiple films. I want Lethal Weapon numbers. I love these people so much, and also I love these characters… If I could work with this crew and these actors in this world that Kelly [McCormick - Leitch's wife and producing partner] and I know so well – yeah, this would be a blast. I hope people want more."
The film's leading lady, Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place films, Sicario) was a bit more measured in her response, stating, "We’ll have to see if people love it, you know? I would do many Fall Guys if I could. It was just too much fun."
The Fall Guy Synopsis: He’s a stuntman, and like everyone in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?