Director David Leitch finally has a true winner on his hands with The Fall Guy. Leitch made a name for himself as a co-director with the first John Wick movie, which took the world by storm with its visceral, well-shot, and well-choreographed action. Although Leitch wouldn’t receive a directing credit for his work on the film – instead listed as a producer – he would soon make a name for himself as a director. Films like Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Bullet Train allowed him to tackle different flavors of action movies. But while each one was enjoyable to some degree, none hit as hard as the John Wick series he helped start.

However, The Fall Guy is a film in which you can tell that Leitch is more in his element than ever before. A romantic comedy centered around a stuntman, the film is carried completely by its charismatic leads and the clear admiration and love for all the work done behind the camera and the unseen faces, making the movie stars look cool with their dangerous stunt work.

Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a seasoned stuntman for big-name actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor Johnson). After a stunt gone wrong leaves Colt injured both physically and mentally, he returns to a new film set 18 months later, also being directed by his old flame Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), whom he left heartbroken. When Tom goes missing, the producer and Tom’s handler Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) tasks Colt to track him down and help save Jody’s movie.

The film’s plot is nothing special or out of the ordinary. If anything, Leitch and screenwriter Drew Pearce make it special by taking a meta angle on the production of the film-in-the-film. Story beats from Jody’s movie are used to reflect the relationship between her and Colt, making it all feel very ‘in your face.’ It’s a charming way to make their story arc as obvious to viewers as possible without making the writing feel lazy and, instead, feel inspired.

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Where The Fall Guy really shines is with its incredible stunt work. Colt’s unraveling of a deep-fake Hollywood conspiracy has him performing some of the most insane leaps, crashes, and fights throughout Sydney, Australia. Leitch shows stunt teams at the top of their game in all sorts of creative ways – runaway garbage trucks and boats engulfed in flames, stunt men falling several stories, and breaking through anything and everything – it’s all here.

It’s hard to complain about the pacing and generic story of The Fall Guy when there’s just so much heart and passion put into everything surrounding that. The incredible camera work by cinematographer Jonathan Sela keeps everything in focus, highlighting the physicality and grittiness of the stuntman at work while never losing its vivid coloring. The sound design of The Fall Guy also makes every hit, crash, and explosion feel real. The IMAX format also elevates The Fall Guy, easily making it a contender as the year’s best action movie.

Gosling’s comedic timing is also as perfect as ever. Moreover, his chemistry with Blunt makes their relationship feel that much more real and helps to get audiences invested despite its predictable nature. Blunt plays a director well and gets her moments to shine in impressive fight sequences. Winston Duke, who plays stunt coordinator Dan Tucker, also gets a couple of moments to shine, filled with some exceptional movie and stunt references as well.

There aren’t any deep themes or messages about the state of the industry in The Fall Guy, even though that’s something expected from movies-about-movies. Instead, Leitch and Pearce take the aloof Colt and go deep into his psyche as a stuntman. My only complaint is that they didn’t expound as much as they could into Colt’s broken spirit following his stunt accident. There’s something to be said about the risk stunt crews take on a daily basis and the invincibility (or vulnerability) that someone might feel when doing that. I only wish The Fall Guy was the film saying it.

At the end of the day, though, Leitch makes up for any faults in the story and puts on a bombastic third act that puts the stuntmen front and center. The incredible action sequence has practical effects galore and strategically shows the intense dedication and passion it takes to make an action sequence work for viewers like me to bask in and enjoy thoroughly.

The Fall Guy may not have a lot to say about the VFX-heavy state of the industry (though there are fun bits about that sprinkled in). However, it still manages to shock and awe with beautifully choreographed stunt sequences and put a spotlight and the invisible heroes who make it happen. There’s even a touching tribute during the credits that showcases all the hard-working men and women who make it look like magic. Because of that, it’s hard not to love The Fall Guy despite its predictability and pacing issues. – Ernesto Valenzuela

Rating: 8.5/10

The Fall Guy is Now Playing in Theaters