Raves call The Fall Guy the best action-comedy in years, a tribute to stunt work

The Fall Guy had its world premiere at SXSW just last night and reviews right out of the gate are explosive, with many calling it one of the best action comedies in years. This is pretty awesome to hear considering the movie is based on a TV show that most of us likely never watched and some of us may have never heard of.

But the hype is real for The Fall Guy, so let’s check out some of the praise:

Ahead of the first screening of The Fall Guy, star Ryan Gosling introduced the movie alongside director David Leitch, sharing stories from the set and working to give stunt people their due, something that Gosling and co-star Emily Blunt also did during Sunday’s Academy Awards in a special presentation of cinematic stunt work (although we all know the category still deserves real recognition). Gosling also noted that The Fall Guy was meant to be a genuine crowd-pleaser, which seems to hold based on the initial reactions.

As such, it’s great to see that this combination of on-screen charisma and stellar stunt work has worked. Hopefully this translate to the box office as well, as The Fall Guy is in a prime position for Universal to help kick off the summer, landing a May 3rd release date that puts it ahead of franchise movies Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Bad Boys 4, and Inside Out 2.

While it’s too early for a projected Rotten Tomatoes score, we’re absolutely looking at The Fall Guy being fresh and now officially one of the must-see movies of the first half of 2024.

None other than Steven Spielberg shared his love of the movie with Gosling at the Golden Globes, much to the star’s surprise…so it looks like all those that also dug The Fall Guy are in some pretty good company! On this interaction, Gosling said, “As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t matter anymore what happens. Steven Spielberg liked it. That was an all-time moment for me. I’m really excited for people to see it. I think it’s a really special movie.”

Here is the plot of The Fall Guy: “Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, a stuntman laid low by an on-set performance gone so wrong that it nearly killed him, while Emily Blunt is Jody Moreno, a former camera operator (and former love) getting her big break as the director of a ridiculously extravagant sci-fi Western that needs his help.” Lee Majors, who starred in the series of the same name, is expected to make a cameo…But no, Gosling will not be singing the theme like Majors did.

Are you looking forward to The Fall Guy more now that reactions were strong out of SXSW? Let us know in the comments section below!