I don’t know that I’ve ever watched a more beautiful but empty film than Nicolas Winding Refn‘s 2013 thriller Only God Forgives which throughout every immaculately staged shot and beautifully lit scene feels like marionettes dragged around the screen by a director who refuses to let his actors, or their characters, have any agency of their own.
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Drew Goddard, who previously adapted Andy Weir‘s The Martian to the big screen, adapts Weir’s novel Project Hail Mary which stars Ryan Gosling as an outspoken, but reluctant, scientist who is Earth’s last hope for survival. The film plays on many of the same themes of The Martian with our protagonist working out seemingly impossible problems lightyears from home while delving further out of hard science and into science fiction as Ryland Grace (Gosling) finds help in the most unexpected place.
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The biggest strength of The Fall Guy, loosely inspired by the 80s television show, is its stars. Ryan Gosling as stuntman Colt Seavers coming back from a failed stunt to work with his former girlfriend Jody (Emily Blunt) on her first big movie is the kind of wacky dumb fun you would expect. Once arriving in town, things don’t go smoothly for Colt who is sent to find the film’s missing star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) by the producer (Hannah Waddingham) who dragged Colt out of retirement. This puts our stuntman in danger and also keeps him away from the woman he desperately wants to win back.
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It’s a Barbie world. Writer/director Greta Gerwig brings Mattel’s famous doll to life in this comedy that lovingly recreates, and then plays with, the world of Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) who discovers her effect on the real world is quite different than she believes. Robbie is perfect for the role on the rollercoaster of the doll’s existential crisis and journey to self-discovery.
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