The Fall Guy - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
I remember seeing the trailer for The Fall Guy a few months back before it released in theaters and I remember thinking “huh, this looks more like a return to typical action films than what we’ve seen recently. I like Gosling, I love Blunt, I’m in”. Fast forward 4 or 5 months and I’m reminded of that film by this review copy showing up on my doorstep. Needless to say, I set out the popcorn, grabbed a couple of Dr. Peppers (the nectar of the gods) and leaned back in the recliner for a fun time.

Now, going by the track record of David Leitch I knew we were in for an over the top, overly stylized, slightly slapstick take on action. I mean, this is the guy who directed Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, none of which are what we would consider “standard” action movies. In true Leitch fashion, the films starts out simply enough by introducing us to stunt man Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling of Barbie fame), a man who loves his job. He gets to get up on top of buildings and take dives. He gets into martial arts fights for the camera, and of course has a crush on camera operator Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). Life is good when you’re the stunt double for the nation’s hottest action star, Tom Rhyder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), until it isn’t.

After a tragic accident that breaks his back, Colt has lost his job as a Hollywood stunt man, and spends his time miserably recalling the failures of his life and what led him to becoming a full time Valet for a Mexican restaurant. All of that changes when he gets a call from his old contact Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) who informs him that Jody is no longer just a camera grip, but has been given the opportunity to direct her own feature length sci-fi film called Metalstorm. On board in an instant, Colt signs on for the gig only to find out that Jody wants nothing to do with him being that he ghosted her after his accident, AND come to find out the reason he was called in was so that he could track down Tom Ryder who has mysteriously gone missing the last couple of days.

Unfortunately for Colt, this isn’t a once and done job either. While he tries to rekindle a romance with a very gun shy Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) he realizes that his assignment to track down Ryder is more than just a simple job. Gunman are after Ryder and now him, causing Colt to have to go full on Stunt Man action hero on the guys chasing him in hopes of finding the snot nosed actor and giving Jody the chance to fulfill her dream of becoming a REAL Hollywood director.

As is the case with David Leitch films, the silly gets amped up to level 10 straight from the get go. Outside of the opening scene where we’re introduced to Colt and Jody, things get light hearted the second the stunt man heads to Ryder’s apartment to find him. There he’s met with a prop sword wielding girlfriend, a drug dealer who doses him with a new drug called “Dundee” (which makes you view unicorns), and of course finding out that the guy he’s sent to retrieve may actually be at the center of all this chaos.

Kind of like Bullet Train, The Fall Guy is a silly affair, but one that is loaded with over the top live action cartoon characters, and a healthy dose of high stakes action. To make it even more interesting, the 4K UHD disc contains not only the theatrical cut, but a HUGELY increased Extended cut to enjoy, and the differences are not slight. Usually an extended cut is simply a few deleted scenes thrown back into the film, or some mild recutting of the film. Here we have an extended cut that runs over 20 minutes longer than the theatrical event, and actually makes a huge different to the enjoyability of the film. I watched the theatrical cut first in the set to get a grasp of what the movie was, but was shocked at how much they added in the extended cut. Whole fight scenes and character arcs feel shafted in the theatrical cut, while they’re greatly expanded upon in the extended cut. However, there is a sort of “two steps forward, one step back” aspect to the longer cut too. Leitch’s jokes almost over stayed their welcome in the original cut of the flick, and while the action and certain character arcs are more fleshed out in the extended cut, some of the jokes are pushed a bit FURTHER as well. Sort of a give and take situation here.

The biggest takeaway from the film though, is that this is a giant love letter to stunt performers and the men/women who put their safety on the line so that actors can make a movie look good. And I’m all for that. I grew up in an era when Jackie Chan, Cynthia Rothrock, Jet Li and many others were living gods in the action world. And the film takes that love and wears it directly on their sleeve at all time. Which lends itself towards us watching an entire metric ton of fantastic stunts shown on screen which only serves to cement the giant goofy grin that I had nearly the entire time. Gosling is on point as Colt Seavers, playing him up to be the stunt man of all stunt men, and he really sells that point. Even though he obviously has his own stunt man (Gosling that is) you really feel like you’re watching a stunt man play himself on screen. Emily Blunt is absolutely adorable as ever, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is UNBELIEVABLE as the hammy method actor Tom Ryder. Most of the time he was on screen I was genuinely busting up laughing from the sheer absurdity and narcissistic behavior he lampoons. Which is something the film does quite often as it laudes the men/women behind the scene rather than those always in front.



Rating:

Rated PG-13 for action and violence, drug content and some strong language / Unrated for Extended Cut




4K Video: Video:

The Blu-ray found in this combo pack is stellar, but the 4K UHD (for both theatrical and extended, which each got their own encode) is simply legen...wait for it...dary. Shot nearly entirely using Arri Alexa cameras at a 4.6K source resolution and transferred to home video with a native 4K master, The Fall Guy looks fantastic in 2160p. It really helps that much like Bullet Train, The Fall Guy is basically a hyper stylized film that looks like a live action Anime film brought to life. Colors are bold and vivid with massive distribution and saturation all around (that final fight stunt scene with Tom and Colt in the car is fantastic, with gold highlights coupled with wildly colorful pyrotechnics going off from every direction). Facial details and textural details are picture perfect, and I never once saw any major banding or crush, let alone digital artifacting. Simply put, this is pure demo worthy 4K stuff and a treat for the eyes.








Audio:

The film’s native Atmos track is quite the stunner too, and most notably full enjoyable during all of the film’s copious stunt and action sequences. The film can quiet down and focus on dialog (such as the amusing bull horn sequence where Jody and Colt sort of rehash their history and what went on after his accident), but the film is so kinetic and full of non stop action that those sequences are few and far between. Instead we’re just pounded with nonstop mayhem, explosions, pop culture songs for the score, as well as a wildly immersive surround setup that makes full use of not only the rears and sides, but the overheads as well. Bass is deep and powerful letting itself be known pretty much at all times for the 2 hour and 26 minute extended run time. Yeah, this is just a blast.







Extras:

• EXTENDED CUT - An extended cut of the film with 20 minutes of additional footage featuring more action, more laughs and more stunts.
• GAG REEL
• ALTERNATE TAKES
• STUNTS ON STUNTS: BREAKING DOWN THE ACTION - Five breathtaking breakdowns detail the meticulous designs, careful preparation, and astonishing execution that goes into pulling off the film's death-defying stunts.
• CITY TRUCK JUMP / SIDEWINDER - Grip the wheel with stunt driver Logan Holladay, who provides a first-person view of an incredible stunt that launches a truck onto a crowded city street.
• GARBAGE BIN - Speed across Sydney's Harbour Bridge while watching Ryan Gosling and the stunt performers surf on a skidding door, trade punches in a spinning bin, and wrestle with an attack dog.
• BOAT CHASE - Blast back to the past with a classic boat jump stunt, no green screen required, complete with an awesome explosion that lights up the water around the iconic Sydney Opera House.
• CAR JUMP - Prepare for possibly the film's most dangerous stunt: a bomb-blasting ride in a tricked-out vehicle that leads into a heart-stopping jump across an enormous expanse.
• HIGH FALL - Troy Brown, the son of legendary stunt performer Bob Brown, follows in his father's footsteps with a high fall off a helicopter like only their family can deliver.
• MAKING A META MASTERPIECE - THE FALL GUY's filmmaking team and all-star cast take you behind the scenes in Australia for an insider's look into the creativity and camaraderie that turns the original TV series into a thrilling new movie.
• HOW TO BREAK A WORLD RECORD - Cheer along with the crew as driving double Logan Holladay and the stunt team craft a cannon roll crash that breaks a Guinness World Record.
• NIGHTCLUB MAYHEM - Fight coordinator Sunny Sun and stunt double Justin Eaton venture behind the camera to choreograph a bottle-breaking battle between Colt Seavers and Doone's goons.
• THE ART OF DOUBLING - Meet stunt double Ben Jenkin, a man willing to be set on fire, hit by a car, and take risks with Ryan Gosling to collectively make a single character look cool.
• MAKING METALSTORM - Cowboys collide with aliens in this look at the creation of METALSTORM, THE FALL GUY's film within the film.
• FALLING FOR THE FALL GUY WITH BOB REESE - Professional parkour athlete and influencer Bob Reese recreates stunts from the movie, including a scissor-lift dive, Kong vault, and heart-stopping high fall.














At the end of the day, The Fall Guy is a fun bit of escapist cinema that is bold, huge in scope, filled with fun characters and over the top hammy performances (Aaron Taylor-Johnson hams it up to level 15 on a scale of 1-10 as a hyperbolic “Daniel Day Lewis meets Jared Leto” type of character) and non stop action. Best way of comparing it is saying “if you like Bullet Train, then you’ll probably like The Fall Guy”. Universal makes this is a killer home video release, with both the Theatrical and Extended cuts getting their own 4K UHD disc, as well a Blu-ray (thank you Universal for being one of the major studios who still supports combo packs). Overall, this is actually a fun bit of escapist entertainment for action fans with a great 4K UHD setup.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer
Directed by: David Leitch
Written by: Drew Pearce, Glen A. Larson
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD+, English DD 2.0 (DVS)
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 146 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 16th, 2024

Travis Ballstadt said:

Is the extended cut on both the UHD and the blu-ray?

Click to expand...

no, the Extended cut is only on the 4K UHD disc (there's 3 discs here, Theatrical 4K, Extended 4K, Theatrical Blu-ray). .... the only way to get the Extended on Blu-ray is the Blu-ray only set... it has both Blu-ray and Extended Blu-rays in that set.