The Fall Guy Ending Explained: Stuntin' On You
This article contains massive spoilers for "The Fall Guy."
Stunt work is all about selling an illusion. When the medium of cinema was first invented, it was initially marketed and thought of as something akin to a sideshow attraction, a wondrous magic trick where a series of pictures put next to each other and illuminated in rapid succession gave the illusion of movement. After this initial novelty gave way to artists utilizing the medium to tell stories, the craftspeople making movies realized that the concept of illusion extended to every aspect of filmmaking.
Where theatre was traditionally bound to a stage or perhaps a circus tent, the movies could expand the canvas of what could be done physically — if cameras could capture it, it could be performed. It's no surprise, then, that films saw people like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and others push the boundaries of physicality and feats of derring-do in the cinema. When it became clear that endangering the safety of movie stars would be a liability for production, the stunt double was born.
Ultimately, the stunt person and the filmmaker have the same common goal: to convince an audience that what they're seeing is actually happening, even if it takes these things happening for real to sell that fiction. That principle is the core of "movie magic": there's enough fiction in the reality to make it incredibly satisfying in ways real life often isn't, but enough reality in the fiction to make it feel believable. Director David Leitch is intimately familiar with constructing a great story, whether it be only through his body during his prior stuntman career, or through his cast and crew of collaborators (including writer Drew Pearce) as a film director. "The Fall Guy" (read our review here), Leitch and Pearce's loose adaptation of the 1981-1986 TV series created by Glen A. Larson, takes the show's idea of Hollywood stuntman-turned-bounty-hunter and turns it into a celebration: of the stunt performers who often go unsung behind the scenes, and of moviemaking itself, especially the way it works its magic on us audience members. Movies make us believe we can survive huge explosions, fall in love, and give a hearty thumbs up when it's all over.
Colt Seavers is The Fall Guy (literally)
Pearce's first feature film screenplay was for 2013's "Iron Man 3," co-written with Shane Black, and apropos of a device that Black helped popularize during his heyday in '80s Hollywood, "The Fall Guy" begins with professional stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) setting up the film to follow with some wry, self-aware and near-meta narration. Apropos of Leitch's Hollywood background, this narration first occurs over a montage of stunt sequences from recently released films, including Leitch's own "Atomic Blonde" and "Hobbs & Shaw."
As Colt's narration continues, we learn he's the longtime stunt double for superstar Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), an egocentric blowhard micromanaged by the congenial yet unscrupulous producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham). Despite the duo obnoxiously insisting that a stunt where Colt falls several stories down the middle of a building needs to be performed again due to "too much face" being in the shot, Colt is on cloud nine thanks to his budding relationship with the film's camera operator, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). The two of them are sneaking off to fool around during downtime on set, and at one point Colt essentially invites Jody to go on vacation with him once the shoot is over, somewhere they can drink spicy margaritas and "make bad decisions."
Sadly, those plans are shattered along with Colt's back when the falling stunt goes awry. Although Colt is rushed to the hospital, he's forced to quit the film, and the accident is so embarrassing to his pride and professionalism that he quits being a stuntman altogether. Despite Jody trying to be there for him, he pushes her away and ends up a year later working as a valet for a Mexican restaurant. His back has healed, but his life is still ruined.
Love hurts when you're The Fall Guy
That valet job isn't Colt's closing credits, as he's contacted by Gail and told to come to Sydney, Australia, where Ryder is starring in a new sci-fi Western entitled "Metalstorm" directed by none other than Jody. When Gail tells him Jody asked for him specifically, he flies over as fast as he can. As soon as he's on set, he's immediately put into a scanning device — for face replacement on Ryder, he's told — and meets the film's stunt coordinator, his old pal Dan Tucker (Winston Duke).
The vibe between Colt and Dan, especially when on set, is heavily reminiscent of the films of stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham, especially 1978's "Hooper." Meanwhile, the movie's meta-humor seems pitched somewhere between Shane Black, Kevin Williamson, and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller; during a rapid-fire conversation, Jody is told that they're having some issues with the third act, and one of the writers wonders if it'd be clever to have a character on-screen mention they're having problems with the third act (more on that later).
After Colt performs a dangerous car roll stunt, Jody discovers he's back, Gail having clearly lied to Colt about Jody asking for him. Getting back at Colt for pushing her away, Jody makes a meal of the next stunt he's to perform, asking him to be set on fire and slam into a rock over and over before trying to elicit an explanation and apology out of him under the thinly veiled guise of discussing the star-crossed lovers in "Metalstorm," a space cowboy and an alien.
After a hard day of jet lag, fire, concussions, and emotional trauma, Colt sits alone in a rental truck, crying to Taylor Swift's "All Too Well," before he's interrupted by Jody. The two start to reconnect, with Jody ultimately glad that Colt is helping make her film while Colt senses that perhaps all is not lost between them.
The Fall Guy channels classic rom-coms and Jackie Chan
However, like any good romantic comedy, our lovers can't get back together without some massive obstacles. Chief among these is the revelation that Gail drops on Colt: Ryder has actually been missing for the last few days, and if he isn't found and brought back to set then the movie is in danger of being shut down for good. As Gail explains, Ryder has fallen in with some shady Australian underworld types, and she fears the worst.
Out of love for Jody and wanting to see her first big movie be a success by premiering its trailer at Hall H during San Diego Comic-Con, Colt semi-reluctantly goes to Ryder's swanky apartment, where he's immediately attacked by a blonde woman with a sword. Once he convinces her he's looking for Ryder on Gail's behalf, the woman reveals herself to be Ryder's girlfriend and leading lady in "Metalstorm," actress Iggy Starr (Teresa Palmer). Colt has been rocking his "Miami Vice Stunt Team" crew jacket — a memento from his first ever professional job — and Starr insists that he ditch it and wear an all-neon outfit instead to get into a nightclub where Ryder's drug dealer, Doone (Matuse), operates. At the club, Colt meets Doone and is given a Shirley Temple that's spiked with an unnamed hallucinogenic drug.
High and literally seeing unicorns everywhere, Colt goes into some "Drunken Master"-style antics, fighting off some thugs while tripping. Eventually, he muscles Doone into telling him where Ryder gets his drugs delivered to: a hotel that "Metalstorm" production has rented during filming. Gail and Jody pass Colt as he enters, leading Jody to call Colt a few moments later after he's accessed Ryder's suite. The two have a conversation about "Metalstorm" and its troublesome third act, with Jody wondering if split screen would be a fun idea just as Leitch employs a "Pillow Talk"-esque split screen device.
Although Colt and Jody are getting closer to rekindling their romance, it's not quite there yet, and Colt quickly comes upon a bigger problem than his love life: the body of a dead man in a bathtub filled with ice. After telling a police officer outside the hotel about the corpse, he's dismayed to discover the body has disappeared.
Cue The Fall Guy's second act complications ... and Phil Collins
Back at work the next day, Jody excitedly sees the possibilities a great stuntman like Colt can bring to her movie and has him shooting all day for a big fight sequence in front of the Sydney Opera House. Pleased with the day's work, Jody invites Colt to a karaoke party, which he promises to attend.
However, Gail ambushes Colt first, exclaiming that she's sorry for ever bringing him here and that she's got him a ticket back home on the next flight out. Before he can decide what to do, Colt spots Ryder's assistant, Alma Milan (Stephanie Hsu), leaving set, and follows her. Once he catches up with her, Alma confesses she doesn't know where Ryder is, but reveals that she's in possession of his smartphone, which she explains has highly sensitive information on it that could ruin his career. Just after handing it to Colt, Alma is suddenly abducted by some thugs posing as garbage truck drivers. Colt springs into action, bringing along the trained dog actor Jean-Claude (who responds only to French) with him.
As Colt, Jean-Claude, and eventually Alma fight off the thugs, Gail arrives at the crew's karaoke party to tell Jody that Colt has gone home at her insistence. Jody is immediately distraught and changes her karaoke song to Phil Collins' "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (itself the theme from the 1984 film "Against All Odds," a remake of the classic 1947 film noir about doomed lovers entitled "Out of the Past").
After Colt is triumphant and the garbage truck finally stops its rampage through Sydney, he rushes back with Jean Claude to the karaoke bar, only to discover the party ended a while earlier. Confessing to Dan what's going on with Ryder, this criminal underworld, and his phone, the dudes realize that the password to unlock Ryder's phone might be on one of the hundreds of post-it notes the actor leaves lying around.
Colt's 'The Fall Guy' in more ways than one
Colt drags Dan along to help him search Ryder's apartment for the password, which Dan finds while swiping some liquor from Ryder's fridge. When Colt and Dan search the phone, they find the incriminating video: a few days earlier, Ryder and Starr were hosting a party in their hotel suite, when Ryder's then-new stunt double, Kevin (Ben Gerrard), made a joke about Ryder claiming to do his own stunts. The two have a not-so-friendly wrestling match in the middle of the room, during which Ryder throws Kevin too hard and inadvertently kills him.
Just as it dawns on Colt and Dan that Ryder and Gail are attempting to cover up Kevin's death, more thugs enter the apartment. Although the phone is destroyed almost immediately, Dan and Colt put up a good fight; Dan eventually escapes, while Colt makes a leap of faith onto a nearby yacht ... which just happens to be Ryder's yacht. After tying a dazed and bruised Colt to a chair, Ryder reveals that Kevin's accidental murder caused Gail to concoct a plan to bring the washed-up Colt to Sydney, whereupon he'd be scanned and manipulated to appear in Ryder's usual haunts and within proximity of the body, only for his face to replace Ryder's in the video so he could be the fall guy for Kevin's death.
The death of a stunt person during the making of a film is a horrible but not uncommon occurrence; Leitch is certainly no stranger to losing a coworker on the job. Gail and Ryder's plan is doubly insulting to stunt people, as it would not only involve the loss of a stuntman but the framing of another, something Ryder justifies with the fact that his persona is big enough to affect several industries at once, whereas Kevin and Colt are merely unknown stuntmen. What's worse is that this isn't the first time Ryder and Gail have attempted to use Colt however they like; Ryder reveals that it was he who sabotaged the falling stunt last year that broke Colt's back, all because he believed the spotlight was shining too brightly on the stuntman at that time.
Revenge of the Fall Guy
Colt isn't about to take all this lying down; when the thugs pour gasoline on him to burn him alive, he takes some in his mouth, using the flame from a bad guy's lighter to distract them and free himself. Escaping in a waterboat (to the strains of Jan Hammer's "Miami Vice" theme, naturally), Colt evades his enemies, using a free moment to call Jody, who's currently being gaslit by Gail into believing that Colt is a murderer on the lam. On the call, Colt tells Jody as much as he can, most importantly apologizing to her for distancing himself from her and confessing that he still loves her. Just as he's discovered by some baddies on other boats who shoot at him, Colt jumps his boat into a docked craft, setting off a massive explosion that no one could escape from. Everyone — including the news, which has picked up Gail's planted story of Colt the murder suspect — believes he's dead.
Of course, Colt is the real deal embodiment of the ethos Gail and her movies cynically peddle: when you fall down, get up and try again. Sneaking back onto the set, evading Gail, Ryder, and their thugs as well as the police, Colt approaches Jody while in disguise as an alien from "Metalstorm," leading Jody to attack him before he eventually stops her by giving her his signature "thumbs up" sign. Relieved, Jody confesses she knew he was still alive, having remembered that a boat crash was a stunt he'd performed regularly during a "Miami Vice" live stunt show.
After evading a nosy Gail, Colt, and Jody come up with a plan to simultaneously clear Colt's name and get Ryder to confess to his crimes: by setting up and performing the massive car jump that Jody wanted to end "Metalstorm" with anyway, whereupon Colt will make sure the cowardly Ryder will finally perform his own stunt.
The Fall Guy saves his best stunt for last
After shooting Ryder (playing the space cowboy) performing a self-aggrandizing monologue, Jody informs him that there's one final bit left to shoot: a close-up of him driving a car and shooting at aliens in front of a blue screen. As that's happening, Colt sneaks into the passenger seat of the vehicle, affixes a stunt driver's wheel to the dash, starts the car, and takes off.
After Colt gets an increasingly terrified Ryder to confess, Colt successfully performs the massive car jump, the rough landing knocking Ryder's bell for a minute. Jody then deals with a now-manic Gail, who's brandishing a gun and demanding the movie's sound recordist hand over the recording of Ryder laying out the whole insidious plot while on mic. Jody manages to land a few blows on Gail before the slippery producer escapes, absconding with the recording onto a helicopter.
Although Colt can't catch Ryder before he boards Gail's getaway chopper, he hitches a ride on Jody's Ultimate Arm camera car, making a plan with her to use the arm to propel him onto the chopper (and, if he survives, to take her to that beach he mentioned a year ago and get spicy margaritas). After tussling with Ryder and Gail on the 'copter, Colt is saved by Ryder refusing to shoot him, for no better reason than he's a great stunt double. With the recording in hand, Colt willingly falls off the chopper ... into the massive crash mat that Dan and the rest of the stunties have set up during the fight.
The Fall Guy gets his happy ending
Those initial third-act woes, where the lovers may not get together, are dispelled as Colt and Jody share a triumphant clinch in front of an exploding spaceship on set. As far as Jody's movie is concerned: while there is a track record of big tentpole movies being released starring highly problematic leading actors, that isn't to be the fate of "Metalstorm." We see a full trailer for the film, which now stars none other than Jason Momoa as the space cowboy. Momoa is a sly choice, for "Metalstorm" seems to be parodying the oeuvre of Zack Snyder (specifically "Rebel Moon") as well as Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" saga, and Momoa has ties to both. (Lest I fail to mention that "Metalstorm" also seems to reference late '70s/early '80s genre fare such as "Heavy Metal," "Spacehunter," and, yes, "Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn.")
It turns out that the trailer is indeed premiering at Hall H in San Diego, with Colt, Dan, and Jean Claude in the audience beaming with pride for their director. As Colt narrates, we see him and Jody being the blissful couple they always wished they'd be, drinking spicy margaritas on the beach and doing donuts in Colt's truck. As Colt says, the love they have "is better than the movies."
The OG Fall Guy gets a credits scene all to himself
Yet that's precisely the gag: the love between Colt and Jody isn't real, it's all just for this movie we're watching. But we the audience not only wanted it, we believed it, too. So if it causes us, real living people, to have a genuine reaction, that's the magic, and it's what the filmmakers' goal was all along. As proof, Leitch ends his film with a Needham-esque outtakes reel (set to the country-fried tune of "Unknown Stuntman," the theme from the "Fall Guy" series), only instead of actors flubbing their lines and the like, he uses the reel to point out all of the real stunt men and women performing the record-breaking stunts for "The Fall Guy" on set.
However, the homage doesn't end there. In a mid-credits scene, a title card reads "Previously on The Fall Guy..." before cutting to the aftermath of Gail and Ryder's doomed helicopter flight. As the producer and the star flail around on the ground, dazed, the police arrive, and out climbs The Fall Guy (Lee Majors), the former stuntman turned bounty hunter from the original series, and his partner, former stuntwoman Jody Banks (Heather Thomas). The duo attempts to arrest the criminals, but the egocentric Ryder refuses, claiming he's going to call someone to get out of it. As he attempts to find a signal for his phone, he wanders into an area of set that's wired with explosives, past a safety sign telling people not to approach the area with their phones. The explosives detonate, dispatching Ryder. The Fall Guy looks on with wry judgment, derisively observing: "Actor." Meanwhile, Alma, having witnessed Ryder's demise, gets on her own phone, asking for Jason Momoa's agent.
"The Fall Guy" isn't just a movie about a stuntman; it has the spirit and soul of a stuntman, too. It's a little clever, a little stupid, a little silly, a little daring, and a lot charmingly lovable. Like a good stuntman, it wants you to enjoy the illusion while appreciating its craft. In addition, it knows that there's only one eternal rule in showbiz: the show must go on.
"The Fall Guy" is now playing in theaters everywhere.