The Gray Man (2022)

A CIA agent becomes the agency’s target, and all hell breaks loose.

Great cast, great potential, and a tremendous waste of both. It is not uncommon for a special agent’s job to be dubious. Especially right off the bat. But knowing, right after, that Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans will go toe to toe most certainly makes it immensely interesting. But is it? The aeroplane sequence’s development is really, I mean, really uncalled for. Six has already displayed specific skills that brand him a top-tier assassin. Still, the CGI and the humanly impossible factor do nothing but take away these abilities, stating that he cannot do what the narrative suggests he is trained to do without them.

Regardless, he gets a chance to redeem himself. What happens next? Loads and loads and loads of human hunting, shooting, and Michael Bay-level destruction. The “Prague on Fire” sequence is a representative example of that, and, in all honesty, no further elaboration is needed. There is a lot of impressive yet unrealistic action, knock-off Die Hard-esque and half-cooked dialogues that, again, discount its full potential. The good news is Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfre Woodard, and the well-anticipated confrontation of Gosling and Evans.

Producers/directors Anthony and Joe Russo were given $200m to make it, deeming it the most expensive Netflix original film, tying it with Red Notice (2021). While the Russos know how to shoot both action and dramatic sequences (and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely how to write them) – Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), etc., The Gray Man falls really short. While the multi-chopped style of editing seems to be the obvious reason, if during principal photography, the choreography is not well prepared or the actors are not allowed to express themselves fully, the editing can only do so much (damage or good). Unfortunately, that particular childish narrative represents the side of Hollywood that only cares about the cash cow and not the audience’s intelligence. Oh! And, once more, everyone could have also been a fragrance or an underwear model.

Is it worth your time? Well, it’ll make you forget your problems for a few hours, smile a little, and send you to bed.

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