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The Fall Guy First Reviews: Critics at SXSW Say It's 'Clever, Charming, and Full of laughs'

Early reviews from the premiere screening at SXSW say David Leitch's action-comedy is a love letter to stunt performers packed with jaw-dropping action and a surprising amount of heart.

by Christopher Campbell | March 13, 2024 | Comments

TAGGED AS: Action, Comedy, First Reviews, movies, SXSW

Hot off his show-stopping performance of “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars, Ryan Gosling already has his best follow-up to Barbie, according to the first reviews of The Fall Guy. The action-rom-com doesn’t hit theaters until May 3, but the movie premiered this week at the SXSW Film Festival to almost unanimous praise. Directed by former stunt performer David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde), The Fall Guy is being hailed as a perfect tribute to stunt work as well as a funny and thrilling showcase of Gosling’s talent and his chemistry with co-star Emily Blunt.

Here’s what critics are saying about The Fall Guy:

Is this already one of the best blockbusters of 2024?

The Fall Guy is a swooning, undeniably fun adventure primed to kick off the summer season in a big way.
— Robert Daniels, Screen International

Clever, charming, and full of laughs, The Fall Guy should be the biggest blockbuster hit of the summer.
— Fletcher Peters, The Daily Beast

The Fall Guy is one of the most outright entertaining blockbusters audiences will see in 2024.
— Ed Travis, Cinapse

Leitch has accomplished something rare in the realm of studio blockbusters: a big-budget film that caters, but does not pander, to its audience… [It’s] right up there with the best of them.
— Adrian Horton, Guardian

One of the best studio blockbusters in recent years.
— Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

Is it the perfect vehicle for Ryan Gosling?

Gosling navigates two films in one, proving himself for the nth time to be one of the most gifted and versatile leading men of his generation.
— Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

Gosling is utterly pitch-perfect as Colt Seavers. This role was made for him. His charisma is through the roof.
— Perri Nemiroff, Collider

This is the charisma-radiating side of Gosling audiences love, and though his character doesn’t have much depth, you could hardly wish for better casting.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

The charisma of Gosling feels like it is being thrown out the window… This represents a major step down.
— Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

How is the chemistry between Gosling and Emily Blunt?

Maybe the most surprising thing about The Fall Guy is how genuinely romantic it is. Blunt and Gosling have splendid chemistry — the kind of onscreen magnetism shared by people who are not just insanely hot but also simply know how to look at each other.
— Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture

The main reason this movie is so great is because Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling have fantastic chemistry.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

Gosling and Blunt radiate movie star charm, the kind of chemistry that cannot be faked… If we’re lucky, Hollywood will Hepburn/Tracy these two and keep them paired up for future movies.
— Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

The heart of this film lies with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt… As they riff, break apart, and come together, Colt and Jody are always worth rooting for, even as insanity occurs directly behind their frame.
— Aaron Peterson, The Hollywood Outsider

The pairing of Gosling with Emily Blunt as romantic foil leaves much to be desired.
— Robert Daniels, Screen International

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in The Fall Guy (2024)

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

Are there any standouts in the supporting cast?

Hannah Waddingham steals the show as the producer of Jody’s film who’ll stop at nothing to make things happen.
— Perri Nemiroff, Collider

Winston Duke and Aaron Taylor Johnson are show-stopping in their own rights… [They] hit comedy out of the park.
— Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Aaron Taylor-Johnson might not be in The Fall Guy all that much, but when he is, he is pure perfection.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

How does the movie compare to the TV show?

Clearly, a lot has changed in Hollywood since ABC first aired The Fall Guy in 1981, and the feature version does something incredibly smart by making Colt’s old flame the boss on this particular production.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

Although its roots are in the ‘80s, The Fall Guy feels very connected to contemporary Hollywood.
— Katie Rife, IndieWire

Does it do a good job honoring stunt work?

This film is clearly a love letter to those in this madcap world of entertainment that put their bodies and souls on the line every day, without an ounce of vanity as they might never be seen, simply to leave fans with a tinge of intensity in their veins and perhaps a smile on their faces.
— Aaron Peterson, The Hollywood Outsider

The Fall Guy is an unrepentant love letter to the stunt community that has brought us cinematic thrills and chills since the dawn of the medium. While there’s still no Oscar awarded to the stunt community, The Fall Guy’s mere existence is another brick in the wall of the argument that the Academy absolutely must adopt a new award for these crucial talents in cinema.
— Ed Travis, Cinapse

The Fall Guy isn’t just a love letter to stunts, it’s a whole damn book. From top to bottom, every piece of this film is made with the unsung filmmaking heroes at its heart.
— Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

A tribute to the craft of making big movies with big stunts that is heartfelt in its appreciation without taking itself too seriously.
— Adrian Horton, Guardian

The film is designed to educate audiences about all the things — fighting, crashing, jumping, swinging, falling — doubles do. If the movie feels overstuffed, that’s because Leitch wants to give audiences more than just a taste, but the full buffet of what his trade is capable of.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

If The Fall Guy was trying to put us in the shoes of what it can feel like to be a stunt performer, it does so in the wrong way.
— Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

How is the action?

The Fall Guy is packed to the brim with stunt after glorious stunt, each one bigger than the last.
— Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

David Leitch raises the volume and intensity with every stunt and action set-piece.
— Aaron Peterson, The Hollywood Outsider

There are many elements that make The Fall Guy enormous fun, but what makes it genuinely artful is the way that Leitch and his team have conceived the film’s stunts as extensions of the characters.
— Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture

All of the action in The Fall Guy is incredibly well-shot, ensuring it can match, if not surpass, the stunt scenes we’d see in any other Hollywood action film. But, these scenes also have a more tactile quality to them than most films. Many moments reminded me of seeing live stunt shows at theme parks in the best possible way.
— Perri Nemiroff, Collider

The action scenes are masterpieces of technical design, featuring stuntwork that’s all the more impressive for how real it looks.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

While the stunts themselves are often spectacular they are in service of little. Even when the movie acknowledges stunt performers deserve awards it doesn’t set them up for such success.
— Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

There are entire sequences where the action seems shockingly lifeless and every bit the brand of lifeless Netflix faff that The Fall Guy set out to renounce.
— Matthew Monagle, The Playlist

Does the movie look good overall?

Visually, Leitch and DP Jonathan Sela make the whole endeavor look so glossy, you’d think you were watching a feature-length Super Bowl commercial. We’re talking crisp, meticulously lit sequences in which the colors pop, sparks literally fly and even the below-the-line characters look like… well, movie stars.
— Peter Debruge, Variety

The VFX for many of the scenes is also lackluster, although a kind interpretation would say the garishness is a winking nod to the necessity of practical effects and stunts.
— Robert Daniels, Screen International

If I had anything critical to say about the film, it does have some dodgy CG elements in a set piece or two.
— Ed Travis, Cinapse

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

How is the script?

The script by Drew Pearce [is] so fundamentally satisfying.
— Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

When the scope of the movie expands — pulling in professional hitmen and a murder plot involving Ryder — the story loses its spark even as the stunts become more ambitious.
— Matthew Monagle, The Playlist

The script is a bit muddled and scattered. Seemingly stitched together from several clever ideas going to very different places… there is really nothing here that will greatly surprise any longtime fan of cinema, but ultimately the pieces align, and it all comes together for a show-stopping finale.
— Aaron Peterson, The Hollywood Outsider

There are truly next to no memorable moments to be found… The Fall Guy feels like an entire feature of scattered ideas that have been done better elsewhere.
— Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

The mystery plot is thin and borderline outlandish even for this level of silly.
— Adrian Horton, Guardian

The movie never really explores what makes Colt tick: Does he have a death wish? An unusually high pain tolerance? (A flashback to kid Colt’s career-inspiring moment might have been nice.)
— Peter Debruge, Variety