I was quite intrigued when I saw trailers for The Fall Guy in the movie theater. Having seen many movies recently, which were all a part of a more extensive franchise, I was looking forward to seeing something completely different, with The Fall Guy being a combination of over-the-top action sequences with a comedic flair. I know that the film is based on a TV Show from the ‘80s, but since I have never seen anything from that show, it meant that the movie’s story would be new to me. Another aspect that intrigued me is that an action-comedy can result in some refreshing, innovative film music, and I was not disappointed.
The main focus in The Fall Guy is to put the spotlight on stunt men and women, who are doing a tremendous job in many movies as unsung heroes, wrapped in a love story between a stunt man and a movie director. When you think about stunt people, you probably imagine individuals who are tough, agile, fast and extremely brave. One type of music that would represent these kinds of people is rock music from the ‘70s and ‘80s, which this movie has in spades. An original score had to be written for the space in between these songs, and director David Leitch gave that assignment to Dominic Lewis after working with him on the movie Bullet Train.
What Lewis could have done was to write a traditional score that matched the style of the rock songs. In a way, he did, by writing orchestral music combined with rock elements like drums, bass and electric guitars, but he took the music to the next level instead of combining the worlds of rock and film music into one. The movie starts with one of the most iconic classic rock songs, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” by KISS. An excellent alternative version, performed by Yungblud, was produced for this film as well, which you can find in the track “I Was Made For Lovin’ You (from The Fall Guy) [Orchestral Version].” The beautiful thing Lewis has done with the music for The Fall Guy is to incorporate this song’s DNA throughout the whole score. You can find a hint of the song’s main melody or one of the iconic guitar parts merged into the music at many places in the soundtrack, with “Sexy Bacon” and “Ball Biter” as perfect examples. I also need to mention the nod to the Miami Vice theme in the track “Miami Grilled Cheese,” which had me cheering out loud in the theater when the accompanying moment happened on screen – one of the wonderful things you can do when you have the whole theater to yourself.
In addition to the rock elements, there are also some tracks where these elements disappear in the background. One example is “High Noon at the End of the Universe,” in which you can hear a beautiful version of the love theme that Lewis came up with, performed by an orchestra. Another fantastic example is the track “The Fall Guy.” It is the last track of the score, since the last three ones are songs, and that track is almost fully orchestral, showcasing that the stunt man is now the hero of the film instead of the tough unsung hero.
I loved watching the movie in the theater. I was quite entertained by the silly story, incredible over-the-top action sequences and stunts, and the music that Dominic Lewis wrote for the film contributed to my entertainment as well. Lewis understood perfectly what the movie needed and executed that brilliantly.
Listen or buy
- Buy this soundtrack digitally from Amazon.com or Apple Music
- Listen to this soundtrack on Spotify
Tracklist
The highlights are in bold.
- I Was Made For Lovin’ You (4:21)
- Unknown Stuntman (Fall Guy Theme) (2:39)
- Thumbs Up (2:15)
- Metalstorm (0:37)
- Third‐Degree Burn (0:53)
- Sexy Bacon (2:29)
- Oner Of A Lonely Heart (1:43)
- Dead Guy On Ice (1:29)
- Fruit Plate (1:00)
- Bon Garçon (0:52)
- Ball Biter (1:44)
- Post‐It Party (1:14)
- Ducking Autocorrect (2:12)
- Attaque! (2:01)
- Miami Grilled Cheese (5:48)
- I Was Made For Lovin’ You (from The Fall Guy) [Orchestral Version] (4:47)
- Chef’s Kiss (1:13)
- High Noon at the End of the Universe (1:54)
- Pyro Prep (1:01)
- Wire Straits (4:38)
- The Fall Guy (5:25)
- Waiting For Love (3:45)
- Unsung Heroes (2:17)
- Ain’t No Galaxy (3:30)
Total length: 59 minutes
Back Lot Music (2024)
