Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for the ending of ‘The Fall Guy’
It’s become a bit of a cliché to say a movie has it all, but in the case ofThe Fall Guythat’s absolutely true—even an end-credits scene. It has plenty of action — after all, its protagonist Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a professional stuntman who is used to performing death-defying feats. It’s got romance, as Colt is called to work on the directorial debut of Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), a camera operator for whom he’s still carrying a torch. It’s got plenty of humor, especially for anyone who knows about orwants to get into the filmmaking business.The Fall Guyeven has a mid-credits scene, which ties up a major loose end and pays tribute to the classic television series the film is based on.
The Fall Guy
Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He’s drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.
‘The Fall Guy’ Ends With a Major Nod to Its Television Roots
The Fall Guykicks into high gear when Colt learns that the producer of Jody’s film, Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) called him to work on the set of her film,Metalstorm, for ulterior reasons. Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the star of the pic who Colt usually doubles for, has gone missing.Colt attempts to track Tom down while trying to rekindle things with Jody, and gets drawn into a conspiracyto set him up as the “fall guy” for a murder Tom committed. With the help of Jody and his best friend Dan (Winston Duke), Colt is able to record Tom’s confession. But Tom and Gail aren’t technically arrested until the mid-credits scene…which features a pair of police officers played by Lee Majors and Heather Thomas!
Majors portrayed Colt Seavers in the originalThe Fall Guytelevision series, while Thomas played Jody Banks. The premise was simple: Colt used his knowledge of stunt work totrack down and apprehend criminals as a bounty hunter. Majors' role as a police officer is a nice nod to the series, and he even gets in a good one-liner. When Tom attempts to make a run for it, he ends up dashing into a part of theMetalstormset that’s rigged with explosives…sending him literally sky high. Majors scoffs, “Actors.” It’s a darkly hilarious moment to endThe Fall Guyon, as well as karmic fodder, since Tom constantly claimed he could do his own stunts.
The Credits of ‘The Fall Guy’ Showcase the Hard Work That Stuntpeople Do
In a move that fits its entire premise, the end credits ofThe Fall Guyspotlight the behind-the-scenes work that went into the film’s stunts. After all, directorDavid Leitchstarted as a stuntman before helming his own films.Even the L.A. premiere was full of crazy stunts, including motorcycle chases and stunt performers leaping through glass. It only makes sense that the end credits would spotlight the people who brought the action to life. Gosling also took the time to thank the stunt performers at the L.A. premiere:
“I don’t know what to say, how do you say thank you to someone that got set on fire eight times for you, jumped from a helicopter, rolled a car eight times for you — this is just such an example of what they do for us, what they contribute to cinema, what they risk for all of us…It’s really been an honor to be a part of something that tells your story in some small way.”
In the end, audiences should stay for the end credits ofThe Fall Guy, both for resolution and to see how much of a love letter to stunt performances that this film turned out to be.
The Fall Guyis now in theaters.
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