The Fall Guy 4K UHD Blu-ray

The Film

★★ | Missed it by that much

There’s a heartfelt message behind The Fall Guy: Stunt actors are undervalued and unrecognized by both the industry and the viewers. They’re professional artists who risk their lives to create spectacles, and rarely do they receive any accolades for making others look cool.

The film around that message is, sadly, uninteresting. It’s the kind of project I found myself working overtime to like, and failing to enjoy. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are immensely likable as the leading lovers. Hannah Waddingham is a treat as the duplicitous producer. For the most part, it’s all breezy, old-fashioned fun.

But it tries so hard to be a Shane Black production without having Black involved that it hurts the big picture. From the smarmy fourth-wall-breaking narration (which bizarrely happens only at the beginning and end) to the glib references to other iconic action films, The Fall Guy feels like a karaoke piece rather than a new addition to the pantheon.

Ironically enough, there’s even a scene where Waddingham comments how she dislikes karaoke. “Who wouldn’t love to hear their favorite songs ruined by others?” And that’s sort of how the film itself feels.

This doesn’t take away from the stunts, which are the highlight and point of the entire thing. Each one of them is worth gawking over. From crazy boat stunts to people dangling off helicopters, The Fall Guy is at its best when it doesn’t even pretend to be anything but a collection of set pieces. And that’s perfectly fine. Jackie Chan built a career on that.

But at two hours in length, the spectacle doesn’t carry all the way. Especially when it’s saddled with the baggage of a convoluted plot involving another Shane Black-esque cover-up, murder, and a bizarre drug sequence, complete with unicorns. Like previous Leitch projects, it’s like the director doesn’t have the faith that people will be fine with just the action. So he spins even more plates to make up for something that didn’t need fixing.

By the time the showdown draws to a close, The Fall Guy has outlived its welcome by a good 20 minutes. It drags itself to the finish line simply on the charisma of its leading couple, who do their level best at making even the cringiest material work. And yet, I still found the bromance in The Nice Guys more affecting.

The Fall Guy is decent popcorn fun, and that’s sometimes all you can ask from something like this. It’s not wildly original, and you’ll probably forget all about it within hours. But it’s not hateful, and there's something endearing about its goofball attitude – which makes me wish I liked it better.

Technical Specs & Presentation

★★★★ | All you can ask for.

The Fall Guy gets a classy global release that's the same in every territory, and the result is a fantastic disc that collectors should cherish.

This high-quality pack comes with 2 UHD 4K discs, each containing a different cut of the film, plus 90 minutes of extra material well worth the asking price.

The packaging is ho-hum, with your typical marketing picture as a cover, but that's to be expected these days. Everything else is fantastic.

Video

★★★★★ | Reference quality throughout.

Both Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are obscenely good-looking people, and this superlative 4K presentation only highlights that. Every aspect of The Fall Guy 4K is demo-worthy, from the fine details in clothing to skin tone and color science in the explosions.

Look, for example, at the first big stunt on the beach, where Gosling's character flips his car against the tide. You can practically count the grains of sand, the waves are clear, and the high dynamic range makes the colors in the sky and vehicles pop. It's a perfect showcase for why HDR is such a game-changer.

Another highlight is the night scenes, where the inky blacks and vibrant colors come into their own. A hallucinatory nightclub sequence with neon colors is almost searingly bright.

Finally, the fake film-within-a-film Metalpocalypse is almost giddy in its faux-Zack Snyderish visuals. The gold-tinted colors fill the room, and every sequence in the over-the-top opera does exactly what the filmmakers intend: It knocks the viewer flat on their ass.

Audio

★★★★★ | Get a Dolby Atmos setup for this release alone.

If the visuals weren't enough to convince you, the masterful Dolby Atmos sound mix should seal the deal.

From gunshots to car crashes to whispered declarations of love, there isn't a single thing out of place in this brilliant demonstration of 4K prowess. I had to go back and rewatch multiple scenes during the review process just so I could enjoy the immense sound mixing all over again.

For example, check out the big set piece at the end, where the stunt and film crew work together to thwart the bad guys. You've got explosions, cars, dialog, helicopters, specialty gear, sand, and wind all working together, and it feels like you're in the middle of everything.

Even as someone who didn't enjoy the film, I love this sequence for how it looks and sounds. It's a supremely effective bit of filmmaking and technical mastery that should convince anyone on the fence of how good physical media can look and sound.

Extras

★ ★ ★ ★ | Now that's how you do it!

The Fall Guy comes with two separate cuts of the film, although I'm not sure why the second one even exists. It's nowhere near better, only longer. At an already overlong two hours, The Fall Guy does not need the extra baggage. If you really can't get enough of Gosling and Blunt, maybe watch the extended cut once, and then forget about it. The theatrical version is superior by every measure.

As for the extras, they're solid, if short. The best parts are the featurettes on the stunts, as you'd expect. "How to Break a World Record" focuses on the incredible car roll featured in the opening act, while "Nightclub Mayhem" breaks apart the fight scene in the neon-lit hellscape that Gosling stumbles through.

The gag reel and alternate takes feel a bit forced, but they're nice to have. The audio commentary is informative but a bit dry, and I wish they'd have an entire track just for the stunt workers on their own. Even if director Leitch is a former stunt guy himself.

Gripes aside, this is a fantastic set of extras that understands the target audience perfectly. It's the kind of package that every physical media release should strive for.

Overall

★★★★★ | Reference-quality disc all around

I'm not a fan of The Fall Guy as a film, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it to everyone on 4K. This is a solid package with a dazzling audiovisual presentation that should please everyone looking for a good time.

Even if the film itself falls short of my expectations, I can agree that it's an amiable way to pass the time. For anyone with even a passing interest in the world of stunts, the extra materials in this terrific release should satisfy as well.

Well done, Universal.