Directed By Joe and Anthony Russo

Starring – Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana De Armas

The Plot – Court Gentry (Gosling) aka, Sierra Six a highly skilled former CIA Operative, was once the agency’s best merchant of death. After his escape from prison, and recruitment by former handler Donald Fitzroy, Gentry is now on the run from the CIA with agent Lloyd Hansen (Evans) hot on his trail. Aided by Agent Dani Miranda (De Armas), Hansen will stop at nothing to bring Gentry down.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of strong violence, and strong adult language

THE GRAY MAN | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube

POSITIVES

The Russo Brothers and specifically “The Gray Man” are like the T-1000 of action installments, in that they channel the scope and scale of Michael Bay, the intensity of Jerry Bruckheimer, and the personality of John Wu. That’s not an insult against its originality, but rather an admiration for the pioneers of the action genre that disposed films like these on a near weekly basis during the peak of 90’s cinema. Because of such, “The Gray Man” instills a warmth of nostalgic glow that it doesn’t overtly polish towards one of the most riveting and impactful sits of the summer season, but instead permeates it effortlessly with a presentation that was built for the biggest screen possible, while taking the next step forward for Netflix productions. For starters, the versatility of action sequences command captivation over a versatility and devastation that spares no expense in its mostly practical annihilation. The fight choreography is crisp, the sound design is blanketing, and the vast movements of the camera via Stephen F. Windon’s transfixing cinematography re-establishes stakes and circumstances with gravity-spinning evolution, that like those invested in the conflict, forces us to adjust with their sudden spontaneity. Aside from this, the dependency of drone footage to survey the various scenes is monumentally beneficial in maintaining continuity over the abundance of character movements, all the while cementing an artistic expression that I feel will spawn in a lot more films with the success of it here, that doesn’t feel gimmicky or overindulged upon for one of the first times ever. The direction from the Russo’s is also equally vital in the film’s success, stitching a fine hybrid of comedic personality to play towards some of the film’s intensely unforgiving action sequences, with corresponding convergence over the proceedings. In pulling off the same with their Avengers films, the duo manages to maintain stakes while supplanting personalities to play towards the mostly cryptic characters, in turn juggling each without compromising the importance of the other. The performances are also a treat, with everyone assembled attaining moments of scene-stealing instances on their way to various transformations that allude to their various versatility as actors. Gosling’s physicality affords him an intimidating presence that is humbled all the more by his dry deliveries playing effortlessly towards the film’s underlining comedic layer, and Evans puts away the Captain America suit for a full-fledged sociopathic antagonist turn that has him chewing scenery by the gallon, similar to Travolta emulating Castor Troy in 1997’s “Face-Off”. Similar to that film, whenever these two share the screen together, it’s an explosion of charisma and character that pits them in the middle of this geographic high-stakes chess match, with an array of backstory between them to keep their characters from feeling anything other than predictable. Even Ana De Armas is given plenty to do as a lethal heroine and Gosling’s right hand, who still maintains the allure of beauty in her appearance, but here radiates a rapid-fire intensity that proves the most dangerous elements do indeed come in small packages, with Armas gutting out what is easily the most demanding role of her youthful career.

NEGATIVES

“The Gray Man” is a film that I wanted to love but couldn’t as a result of some monumental misfires in third act execution that underwhelms the climax of the movie’s lengthy build-up. There is a final battle between Gosling and Evans, but it’s so one-sided and brief that it directly undercuts the tension in the preconceived atmosphere, made even worse by an unfulfilled palpability in the film’s closing moments that feel catered towards building a sequel instead of resolving the film before us. It runs on a bit longer than I would’ve preferred, with the film’s final ten minutes serving as the aftereffects to what transpired, but the kind that prove how inconsequential everything truly was with the matters that still linger. Speaking of overstaying the welcome, the 115-minute run time is typical for a majority of action genre films, but here feels a bit padded when you consider what the film chooses to focus a majority of its time upon. There are periodic time shifts meant to convey meaning in the backstory of a relationship, prolonged exposition dumps that could’ve easily been trimmed to fit a few sentences instead of a few minutes, and second half character introductions that never reach a justification to fit their truancy. This sentiment is especially all the more taxing when you consider the movie’s editing scheme rampantly cuts from scene to scene without a shred of a human emotion between them, before overstimulating the aforementioned action sequences with a few too many cuts for my own personal taste or navigating interpretation. It disjoints and undercuts momentum in ways that alienate the eyes from ever maintaining focus, in turn disconnecting the tangible essence of their influence during the key moments that paying audiences are here for in the first place.

OVERALL
“The Gray Man” is a watchable mid-2000’s kind of action thriller that unfortunately rarely serves as anything transcendent beyond its impression of better films of the genre. Though the performances and fun action set pieces do more than enough to justify the experience, especially for a Netflix night at home, the third act’s betrayal of the audience is an unforgiveable, unfinished sin that built towards the goals of a future sequel, instead of resolving matters with the film in front of us.

My Grade: 6/10 or C