The Fall Guy Saves Its Best Cameo For When You Least Expect It

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for "The Fall Guy."

Don't look now, but Hollywood is going back to its old-school roots with "The Fall Guy." Director David Leitch's throwback blockbuster (reviewed here by /Film's Jacob Hall) not only gives stunt people the overdue celebration that they heartily deserve, but it uses some very tried-and-true methods to do so. Relying almost entirely on the star power of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt along with the undeniable chemistry sizzling between the two leads, the rom-com masquerading as an action film might as well be shaking audiences by the collar to remind them why we go to the movies in the first place. Although based on a lesser-known television series, this adaptation doesn't resort to the same kinds of gimmicks as typical franchise films. (Okay, only some of them, at least.)

In fact, it's to the extent that even its biggest and most secretive cameo, saved for a late third-act moment to fully maximize its impact, feels like yet another breath of fresh air in a marketplace dominated by endless IP. In order to preserve the surprise for those who've already seen the film, we'll save any spoilery discussion of this aspect of "The Fall Guy" for those who scroll past the image below. But make no mistake: This very specific casting choice, while outrageously funny on its own merits, speaks to a much broader point that the script (credited to writer Drew Pearce) is making throughout the story. The end result is a movie that saves its best surprise for when we're least expecting it.

What do you do when the behavior of an insufferable, temperamental, and completely unruly A-lister is threatening to blow up a big-budget production? If you happen to be super-producing extraordinaire Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), well, you move heaven and earth to cover up Tom Ryder's (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) pattern of recklessness — even if that means recruiting a patsy (Ryan Gosling's washed-up stuntman Colt Seavers) to take the fall for nothing short of manslaughter. Under less criminal circumstances, however, you simply recast. In this case, audiences get their cake and eat it, too, leading to one of the year's most entertaining comedies as Seavers desperately tries to get to the bottom of Ryder's disappearance along with, ultimately, a Jason Momoa cameo for the ages.

The "Dune" and "Aquaman" star is obviously no stranger to making his mark on franchises, adding an appropriately meta touch to the final reveal that the well-known actor has been brought in to salvage "Metalstorm," the high-stakes sci-fi film directed by Emily Blunt's Jody Moreno. The visuals of seeing a jacked-up Momoa channeling his inner Paul Atreides to play a space cowboy leading an army against forces of evil is well worth the price of admission. But what makes this so much more effective than, say, his confusing appearance as Arthur Curry in the post-credits scene of "The Flash" or his constant mugging for the camera as the villain of "Fast X," is the fact that the leadup to his cameo — with Tom Ryder finally outed for inadvertently killing his former stuntman and removed from the picture — forces viewers to grapple with what really makes a movie star.

It's the existential question that movie theaters worldwide must grapple with: How do we get moviegoers back where they belong? It's no secret that box-office profits have been on the downswing for quite some time, even before the pandemic further threw the industry into disarray. While crowd-pleasing franchises could once be counted on to routinely bring in all four quadrants, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has lost its sterling reputation post-"Avengers: Endgame." With all that in mind, of course a movie as in tune with the state of the industry as "The Fall Guy" is would implicitly suggest that movie stars — once considered the most reliable draw for audiences, going back to the days of Grace Kelly and Cary Grant — could once again be our salvation.

But what makes a movie star? Tom Ryder represents all the worst stereotypes associated with these out-of-touch rich people: egos the size of blockbusters, conventional good looks tempered by toxic personalities, and a serious lack of talent ... or, at least, a lack of willingness to do the hard work when talent alone isn't enough. While Colt Seavers seems like the obvious foil, it's actually Jason Momoa's cameo that helps this theme click into place. Fans would have to search high and low for anyone who's had a bad word to say about their experiences with the actor, while his various charitable causes, overt pride in his cultural heritage, and his larger-than-life personality all make him easy for the general public to like. In short, you couldn't create a more ideal movie star if he were grown in a lab.

The moment he shows up, "The Fall Guy" is practically shouting: That's a movie star.

"The Fall Guy" is now playing in theaters.