The Gray Man

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Alfred Woodard, Rege-Jean Page, Julia Butters, Shea Whigham
Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Thriller
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An expert spy (Ryan Gosling) is given a dangerous secret about his organization, which hires a psychopathic former employee (Chris Evans) to hunt him down.

Review:

Tim: I was excited to see The Gray Man, Anthony and Joe Russo's second film after wrapping up their Avengers finale. Their last film, Cherry was a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately, that doesn't happen here, with one of Netflix's most expensive movies ever. No, this movie doesn't get to the heights of those Avengers movies, but it's a solidly made, entertaining action thriller. I had a fun time watching this movie and I'd consider it a win.

The main appeal of this film is seeing Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans going toe-to-toe. I can't really stress enough how much of a boon this was for the film. Gosling is an underrated talent and I love that he's doing more of these action roles. He's incredible in the lead and I really enjoyed his character. He mostly plays him straightforward, but he delivers some humorous lines quite well. He makes for a great protagonist and I'd watch him in this role many, many times. I love that Chris Evans declined the lead to play against type as the villain. Evans clearly loves this role, as his scenery-chewing antagonist steals scenes left and right. Now, I have to state that Evans is a bit over-the-top in his performance. He doesn't seem to care, though- that's some of the appeal. You just really hate his character and he revels in that. It was fun to see him ham it up. While I wouldn't say Evans was great in the role, it's great fun to watch him play such an unlikable character. I loved that we got a chance to see Gosling and Evans face off- I loved every minute of their interactions and rivalry here.

I'm glad to see that Ana de Armas seems to be really blowing up as an actress. She's talented and it's been fun to see her meteoric rise. Her character felt a bit forced into the plot and too much like an afterthought, but I had fun watching her interact with Gosling. I wanted her character to have more of a substantial role, to feel like her decisions came from her character verses convenience of plot. That doesn't quite happen, unfortunately. That being said, Armas gives a good performance here despite the limitations she needed to work around. Billy Bob Thornton worked well in the older mentor role. It's a very expected and predictable part, but Thornton is talented and makes it work. I love Jessica Henwick and it was fun to see her do something a bit different here. Her haircut is awful, but her performance works. Rege-Jean Paul was solid- I wouldn't say I loved his performance (it was a bit too on-the-nose), but it works. The cast in this film was really effective.

Watching this film, you can definitely see where the money was spent to bring this film to life. There's some beautifully shot set pieces that feature a bunch of explosions and destruction of various forms. I wouldn't say the movie feels incredibly epic (I'd expect a bit bigger for $200 million, honestly), but it definitely feels larger scale than a similar movie with half the budget. The money did help create some extra scope, which makes the movie better. The train sequence was definitely a standout, along with the gunfights around it, too. The action all felt well-done, intense, and exciting. The movie is the right length at just over 2 hours. It never drags and it's always engaging and fun.

I do believe that the Russos' film does adhere to the genre conventions more than it challenges them. The script plays out more or less as we'd expect it, although there are a few surprises. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the movie doesn't elevate the film outside of having a bigger budget to craft larger action sequences. Minor quibble, yes, but this is a film that sets out more to meet our expectations than to exceed them.

The Gray Man isn't quite strong enough to be considered great or a classic in the genre, but it's wildly entertaining and a so enjoyable to watch. While you always hope for more, if the Russo Brothers can continue to deliver movies of this caliber, they will prove their success for Marvel wasn't solely because of the franchise itself. This film was well made and quite strong and I'm so excited for them (hopefully) to do a sequel.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Cherry, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, No Time to Die