The Gray Man

I'm a little late to The Gray Man since I skipped its short theatrical release and had some other things earlier in the weekend to catch up on. 

During the last several weeks, I was disappointed to see it get fairly eviscerated via reviews. The Russo Brother-directed spy vs. spy, star studded affair was being called boring and a "mess", among other things. Taking those reviews somewhat to heart, I reluctantly lowered my expectations for a Netflix release I'd been excited for. However, given recent, overly-harsh lashings of Netflix films *cough Red Notice is still a fun time cough cough*, I also wondered if The Gray Man was a similar situation.

Low and behold, the situation is indeed similar. 

Given the reviews I've seen elsewhere, I feel almost obligated to hate or have not enjoyed this film. It's one of those times (which admittedly is pretty rare) where I'm so confounded by others' reviews that I feel like we watched two different films. I try to check my biases when relating how much I enjoy something compared to others though. For example, I'm practically pre-disposed to like most superhero, action, or sci-fi films. Those are just the things I'm in to. The Spy vs. Spy angle of The Gray Man is arguably right up my alley so realistically, I got a lot of enjoyment (and writing ideas) from what's here. And, every once in a while, you have a movie that you really like and you're alone on an island. 

If The Gray Man is that for me, then I'm ok with it. 

Based on a novel by the same name (of which I haven't read), The Gray Man follows Six (Gosling) as he tries to escape being "decommissioned" by Lloyd (Evans) and various other parties. Six is part of a larger Sierra Squad, and the last of his kind, who uncovers a litany of useful information early that could take down the broader system. The plot points outside of the Evans vs. Gosling (with de Armas' help) conflict aren't super well organized, but in broad strokes it's a government turning its back on one of it's best agents. It's not nearly as convoluted as I'd heard, especially since its based on a novel that has more breathing room, but it moves at a break-neck pace (both a good thing and a bad thing). It's an intriguing enough premise that it kept me invested as to what would happen, but wasn't my driving motivation of enjoyment. 

Now he's Drive-ing trams? What can't he do?!

Pretty sure that's not how you hold a gun?

That element was undoubtedly the cast. Gosling is a combination of his Nice Guys persona and his stoic mystery from Drive. It's a central character I'd love to see more of because it finds the right balance of dry humor and being a brutal bad ass. Ana de Armas is less interesting as a spy helping Six - definitely not the highs of Paloma - but still has fun moments and the two work well together. Chris Evans' Lloyd is delightfully out of character for him as a brutal, "bro", psychopath who hunts Six. Evans has tons of fun in the role and some of the more outlandish moments feel like a Bond villain of old. The remaining side characters have a similar fate as the plot: they're fine but not what keeps the movie going, but it's really this central trio, specifically Evans and Gosling, that we get to have a lot of fun with. 

From an action perspective, I was also impressed aside from the layer of Netflix "sheen" across the entire proceedings. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Netflix has got to get better special effects OR spend the money to do practical effects. And when I say "have to"...obviously they don't "have to" do anything (though they are losing subscribers), but it's really distracting and unfortunate to have so much obvious green screen or CGI elements be lackluster in 2022. You don't need Top Gun: Maverick levels of realism, but you also shouldn't have butt-ugly skydiving scenes that look like a cartoon. I digress though...the action, for the most part, is hard hitting and well choreographed. Certain scenes are thrilling and most of the hand-to-hand combat is fast, well-captured, and brutal. Aside from the aforementioned skydiving scene, the action is worthwhile. 

As I mentioned earlier, I'm apparently alone on an island of people who enjoyed The Gray Man, but part of the reason I began this hobby over a decade ago was to avoid conforming to all critic opinions. If you're not super interested into "spy" stuff, then I'm sure The Gray Man is nothing special. Even within the realm of espionage/action films, there are better, but thanks to a stellar cast and some exciting action, The Gray Man is not the train wreck many have claimed it to be.

CONS

• Breakneck pace where some of the character reasoning and twists are undersold
• Outside of the larger Spy vs. Spy drama, the plot is fairly basic
• The Netflix "sheen", especially during action scenes. Way too much greenscreen and poor CGI
• Skydive action sequence is trash

PROS

• Highly enjoyable leads with Evans, Gosling, and de Armas
• Evans is delightfully twisted in a role that's different for him
• Gosling is a natural action star, both funny and brutal here
• Spy vs. Spy element is a lot of fun
• Decent OS and good music selection
• Action scenes are exciting. The hand-to-hand ones especially are brutal and well choreographed (and mostly have less CGI)
• Entertaining espionage adventure that I'd be happy to get a sequel for

Rath's Review Score | 8/10