Aaron Taylor-Johnson is heavily rumored to have been chosen as the next James Bond but before he dons the role of 007, his latest movie, The Fall Guy, is gearing up to race onto our screens and its Rotten Tomatoes score suggests it will be essential viewing.
Taylor-Johnson will star alongside Barbie and Oppenheimer actors Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt as well as Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham in an action comedy that pays tribute to the invaluable work of stunt performers in movies.
What is The Fall Guy about?
Directed by David Leitch (Bullet Train, Deadpool 2 and co-director of John Wick), the movie follows stuntman Colt Seavers (Gosling) who has spent a year away from Hollywood after suffering an almost career-ending accident.
However, Colt is reluctantly drafted in by movie director – and his ex – Jody Moreno (Blunt) when the star of her latest mega-budget blockbuster, Tom Ryder (Taylor-Johnson) goes missing.
As Colt searches for the missing Tom’s whereabouts, he finds himself ensnared in a sinister criminal conspiracy.
The Fall Guy has just had its premiere at the 2024 edition of SXSW and will be exploding into theaters for general audiences on May 3.
The Fall Guy scores big on Rotten Tomatoes
Following its premiere, The Fall Guy has earned an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an impressive review score given the movie’s nature as a popcorn-guzzling action comedy.
It should be noted that the score is based on 34 reviews collated to date and it could change as more reviews come in.
The 88% score means that The Fall Guy is currently the highest-rated movie of Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s career, with his next highest being the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy (80%) and the superhero movie Kick-Ass (77%).
For Emily Blunt, the movie is the ninth highest-rated of her career, with her best-reviewed movie being 2018’s A Quiet Place (96%). Best Picture-winning Oppenheimer currently stands at 93%.
And for Ryan Gosling, The Fall Guy is his joint-sixth high-rated movie alongside Barbie while 2011’s Drive is his best-reviewed film with 93%.
What the critics are saying
With an 88% rating, the majority of reviews for The Fall Guy are largely positive, with a general consensus being that the film is a fun-filled romp that is perfectly accompanied by a giant bucket of popcorn.
Matt Donato of Inverse wrote: “A fun-filled, fun-loving love letter to the undervalued stunt performance profession. It’s full-gear popcorn entertainment that only someone wholly passionate about stunt work could deliver.”
Deadline’s Valerie Complex said: “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.
IGN Movies critic Siddhant Adlakha noted: “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.”
David Fear of 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.”
And finally, Matthew Jackson of the AV Club called The Fall Guy “a blast of fun at the movies worthy of the biggest tub of popcorn you can find. It’s two hours of movie stars being absolute charm machines, and sometimes that’s all you really need.”
The Fall Guy explodes onto theater screens on May 3, 2024.
