A film based on the 70s TV series that starred Lee Majors about a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. It wasn't a particularly memorable series and to be honest this film won't be either. It's entertaining in it's own way and is definitely a film to see on the big screen as it's all about the stunt work which is intermixed with a comedy plot. The ever versatile and very watchable Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, the stunt double for mega star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a shallow and cowardly chap. After a stunt goes wrong Colt is seriously injured and leaves behind the film business and his new girlfriend, Jody (Emily Blunt), a camera operator. Sometime later he's contacted by producer Gail (Hannah Waddingham) who tells him Jody is now the director on a huge film and wants him to do the main stunts. Colt jumps at the chance to reconnect with Jody but soon finds he's been duped and Hannah has instead recruited him to find a missing Ryder. Soon Colt finds he's caught up in some kind of conspiracy. This story is played out while Colt and Jody comically deal with their feelings for each other and Colt gets more and embroiled in fights, chases and predicaments in his search for Ryder. There's plenty to enjoy here but it all feels like it's not fully developed and that the stunts are more important. And perhaps they are, this is after all an ode to the stuntman and remembering that director David Leith was once one himself. Taylor-Johnson is not used nearly enough, nor is Teresa palmer as his movie star girlfriend. Blunt and Gosling have a great screen chemistry but it's somewhat undercooked leaving you with a faintly unsatisfied feeling once the film is over. It's all ok for a big action based blockbuster but it could've been a lot better.
Apart from a few stunts, it’s hard to care. The quickfire, superficial dialogue probably looked good on paper, but in front of the camera it just makes the characters look like actors instead of vice versa. Consequently both the rom lacks credibility and the com is excruciating. Add a threadbare plot, overlong talkie scenes and a terrible teeny pop soundtrack and you’re soon longing for something to get interested in. The background stuntman scenario probably gave the project its greenlight, and there are some good pratfalls here, but when it all ends up in boring superhero-type flashbangs it seems like a wasted opportunity.
The first half is totally and utterly embarrassingly bad with a script that a two year old could write. The only vaguely watchable bit is the end credits which are intermixed with footage of them filming the stunts. Now that would be an interesting documentary.