We're in a world where even really fun movies can get absolutely demolished at the box office if they time their release just slightly wrong, misadvertise or just have some bad luck. I'm not the industry analyst to explain quite what happened to The Fall Guy when it hit theaters last year, but widespread reports confirm that it massively underperformed expectations.
Universal's loss is your gain, though, because Amazon Prime subscribers can now catch the movie streaming at no extra cost on Prime Video. Amazon included it in a sizzle reel boasting about new additions to the service in January, and it's available now.
Firing it up for a home cinema session, you'll be getting access to a really fun movie, one that I thoroughly enjoyed on a recent long-haul flight. It's a film that doesn't take itself too seriously at any point, and is almost as much of a comedy as it is an action-romance.
It stars Ryan Gosling as a beleaguered stuntman who comes out of retirement when the woman he thought he'd end up with asks him for help. She's played by Emily Blunt, and is a no-nonsense director making a break for success, but is herself plagued by a leading man who's gone missing. Cue a silly but fun plot about abductions and mob bosses, filled to the brim with stunts.
When you've got leading talent like Blunt and Gosling, both of whom can boast about Oscar nominations and have starred in some huge movies, you'd think that people would head to theaters to enjoy their chemistry. They do have a spark, too, with great comic timing between them and some lovely soulful looks.
Really, though, it's those set-piece stunts that will last in your memory after watching The Fall Guy. From impossible jumps to surfing a bit of metal down a high street, they all look fantastic, and Ryan Gosling's stunt doubles do some seriously sterling work.
So, this is definitely one to add to your watchlist – get it on there and watch it without having to pay an extra dime. It's the sort of fun, silly movie that all of the best streaming services out there should be aspiring to have in their collection.
