I’m betting a lot of people (particularly younger audiences) will go into “The Fall Guy” completely unaware that it’s loosely based on a 1980s television series. I’m guessing they’ll be going to see the new Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt movie and who can blame them? But “The Fall Guy” was also a fairly popular ABC TV series that ran from 1981 through 1986. It starred Lee Majors as a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. The show also starred Heather Thomas who became a pinup sensation and a brown GMC K2500 4×4 pickup truck that we all wanted to own.

Former stuntman turned director David Leitch pulls some inspiration from the television show but mostly makes his own movie, calling it “a love letter to stunts” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. That fits considering the stunt work is one of the film’s biggest strengths. Amazingly, mostly practical stunts were used in the handful of intensely choreographed action set pieces. Mix in some decent humor, a semi-interesting romance, and two form-fitting leads with good chemistry and you have the kind of frothy entertainment people often look for in a summer blockbuster.

Probably the least interesting part of “The Fall Guy” is the plot. Written for the screen by Drew Pearce, the story itself is pretty generic although it often puts its stars in positions to shine. Gosling plays Colt Seavers, an accomplished Hollywood stuntman who has spent six years as the primary stunt double for Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the biggest action star on the planet. While filming Ryder’s latest blockbuster, Colt breaks his back after an ambitious stunt goes wrong. It leads to him leaving the stunt business and his girlfriend, a camera operator named Jody Moreno (Blunt).

Bop ahead eighteen months where Colt is working as a valet for a Mexican restaurant. One day he’s unexpectedly contacted by producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) who informs him that Jody is preparing to direct her first film, an epic sci-fi blockbuster called “Metalstorm” starring Tom Ryder. Gail invites him to the set in Sydney, Australia telling him that Jody (who he hasn’t spoken to since they split) wants him to join the production. But when he arrives he’s disappointed to discover that Jody didn’t request him. In fact she doesn’t want him anywhere around her movie mainly because she’s never forgiven him for their breakup.

As luck would have it, Jody is in desperate need of a seasoned stuntman for her biggest action scenes. So with the coaxing of her stunt coordinator and Colt’s best friend Dan (Winston Duke), Jody reluctantly agrees to let her ex-boyfriend work on her movie. Her ire is pretty hard to miss. But so is the clear and glaring truth that Colt is still crazy about her. That leads to some pretty obvious tension which eventually starts to melt as the romance angle kicks into gear.

Things take a weird turn after Gail informs Colt that Tom Ryder has vanished after getting involved with some rather shady characters. She wants Colt to secretly search for Ryder and bring him back to the set before Jody finds out and panics. Colt’s unsure at first, but then it hits him – save Jody’s movie by finding her star and win back the love of his life. But wouldn’t you know it, the search for Ryder uncovers some big and deadly secrets. And soon Colt finds himself running for his life, targeted by those wanting to keep him away from the truth.

It almost feels like there are two different storylines. Without question they’re connected, but they play differently. One involves Colt and Jody trying to rekindle their movie set romance. It’s where we get a lot of the cool behind-the-scenes looks at making a movie, especially when it comes to stunt work and directing action scenes. But some of the bigger set pieces are tied to Colt’s search for Tom which is where the story really lags. Both angles eventually collide in the film’s big finale, but one is considerably more entertaining than the other.

Interestingly, Gosling and Blunt have pretty strong chemistry although not as much in the romance department. Instead it’s in their comic exchanges that we see the two connect the most. Pearce works in some pretty good laughs, many of them made better by the two stars effortlessly working off each other. Unfortunately the humor dries up over the course of the second half, not because Leitch and Pearce aren’t trying. It’s that the gags aren’t as fresh and don’t land as intended

“The Fall Guy” certainly has its strengths: a playful energy, a few fun meta moments, some good early laughs, and pretty cool action. Ryan Gosling does his thing while Emily Blunt is delightful as usual. But the movie’s charms can only carry it so far and its routine starts to wear a little thin well before the two-hour mark. It’s not bad but not all that memorable either. Kinda like most of the summer popcorn movies that we still enjoy. “The Fall Guy” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 3 STARS