THE GRAY MAN REVIEW

 *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

The Gray Man is CIA operative Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling), aka Sierra Six. Plucked from a federal penitentiary and recruited by his handler, Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton), Gentry was once a highly-skilled, Agency-sanctioned merchant of death. But now the tables have turned and Six is the target, hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a former cohort at the CIA, who will stop at nothing to take him out. Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) has his back. He’ll need it.

After spending the early 2000s directing comedies such as Welcome to Collinwood and You, Me and Dupree, the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, found success within the Marvel Cinematic Universe after directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. All four films were successful, both at the box office, with Endgame becoming one of the highest grossing films of all time, and with fans of the superheroes. In 2020, the Russo brothers co-directed the crime-based drama, Cherry, which was released on the streaming service, AppleTV+. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment, with many criticising the lengthy runtime and the inconsistent and over stylised filmmaking by the Russo’s. Their latest film, The Gray Man, is an improvement as it’s packed full of thrilling action. The main premise is simple, as it focuses on Gosling’s skilled mercenary, known as Sierra Six, trying to escape an army of assassins, lead by Evans’ violent villain, Lloyd Hansen. Although the story is straightforward, the direction by the Russo’s is far from it as they capture the action using quick close ups and shaky camera. Because of this, some may struggle to watch The Gray Man, especially those who get motion sickness. Although I don’t think it’s as impressive as what the Russo’s created with their films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Gray Man still works as a standalone action packed thriller.

The Gray Man sees Gosling making his first appearance in a film since his role as Neil Armstrong in Damien Chazelle’s biopic, First Man, which was released in 2018. As the central character, Gosling brings an charm, with most of the comic relief coming from his laidback personality. Whilst Gosling is calm and cool, Evans is perfectly over the top as the bad tempered antagonist, Lloyd Hansen. It’s interesting seeing him in a villainous role after spending over a decade portraying the heroic Captain America in the MCU. Although her character, Dani Miranda, is underwritten, Ana de Armas portrays her as fierce and a strong fighter. She shares chemistry with Gosling, which isn’t surprising considering they appeared in Denis Villeneuve’s visually stunning sci-fi sequel, Blade Runner 2049, in 2017. Armas also previously worked with Evans in Rian Johnson’s murder mystery comedy, Knives Out, in 2019, however, in The Gray Man, they don’t share many scenes as she is mostly seen in action alongside Gosling. 

Although The Gray Man is thoroughly entertaining for the majority of its two hour runtime, it’s not without its flaws, including a predictable plot. Like a lot of action films, The Gray Man focuses on the protagonist being on the run from the antagonist before ending with a brutal fight between the two. The script, which was based on a novel by Mark Greaney and written by Joe Russo,, Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, has little in the way of surprises. This may disappoint a lot of viewers hoping for a more original and interesting action film. 

After being released in select cinemas, The Gray Man will be streaming on Netflix on July 22nd. I was lucky enough to watch it at one of my nearest cinemas and I enjoyed watching it on the big screen, especially the thrilling action sequences. Personally, I prefer watching films at the cinema because I get easily distracted when I’m at home. However, there’s nothing wrong with Netflix as it provides its subscribers with countless hours of entertainment. Although some of Netflix’s original films have received a mixed response, The Gray Man represents one of their better films and is packed full of thrilling action. 

7/10