Movie: The Gray Man

The Gray Man Cast: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Rege-Jean Page, Julia Butters, Billy Bob Thornton, Dhanush, Alfre Woodard

The Gray Man Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Where to watch: In Theatres

Review by: Russel D'Silva

The Russo Brothers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo have delivered the second highest and fifth highest grossing movie of all time with Avengers Endgame and Avengers Infinity War while their Captain America Civil War and Captain America The Winter Soldier also did exceedingly well at the box office all across the world. Not only have they all raked in the big bucks, but they've also garnered glowing critical acclaim. Now, they return, albeit on Netflix, with The Gray Man, a spy-action movie, starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Rege-Jean Page, Julia Butters, Billy Bob Thornton, Dhanush and Alfre Woodard. Sadly, just like Cherry, their immediately outing after their three superhero films, this one flatters to deceive.

So, are you excited about what to watch this weekend or what to watch this week and wondering whether The Gray Man is worth your time? Scroll down for my full The Gray Man movie review...

What's it about

After ghost agent Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling) of the CIA uncovers dark secrets of his agency and a plot to keep them being buried by annihilating all members of his ghost team, a corrupt agency bigwig hires unhinged private contractor Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) to do away with Six, who, in turn, unleashes the world's most deadly mercenaries on his tail.

Watch the The Gray Man trailer below:

What's hot

Right off the bat, the only things that keep The Gray Man barely afloat are the performances and a couple of action scenes not even all of them. Ryan Gosling is the perfect laconic leading man, who's action well and truly speak louder than words, while Chris Evans is gleefully insane as a sociopathic private contractor, leading the biggest team of mercenaries. Ana de Armas is very impressive and almost matches Gosling's intensity and action chops, Rege-Jean Page is sufficiently creepy and Julia Butters is simultaneously spunky and innocent.

Veterans Billy Bob Thornton and Alfre Woodard do what veterans do. Coming to Dhanush, he's there for all of 15 mins, but it's the impact he leaves both as an actor and the way his character is sketched that matters. Now, coming to the action, a long choreographed scene in Prague and the climax to some extent are the only major highlights, but shine enough to keep you mildly engaged. The production values, cinematography, VFX are all top notch, but that's what you'd expect from one or Netflix's most costliest products ever, boasting a $200 million budget.

What's not

The Gray Man is probably the most derivative film I've seen in my life. From the core concept to every plot point to how said points are executed to the sub-plots and right down to the character arcs everything is a walking cliche, carrying a glowing lable of 'being there, done that and done that way better' from a thousand similar spy-action movies in the past. Divulging what these myriad derivations are technically count as spoilers, but I doubt anybody would consider them as spoilers if I were to actually reveal how many such derivations the film actually holds.

It's also telling that despite bearing so many similarities to so many better movies in the past, the first half of the film really tests your patience, till things pick up thereafter. The Russo Brothers Anthony Russo and Joe Russo once again display their grip over executing technically sound action scenes and making their characters look and feel stylish or injecting the dialogue with moments of humour, but it's their overall script (Joe Russo with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) that's hackneyed and weighs down the execution. Even some of the action set pieces are surprisingly derivative (can't help but keep using this word), coming from the Director duo of some of the biggest action movies ever made. Another drawback is how long the movie is when it fails at multiple levels at holding your attention 15-20 minutes could've easily been chopped.

BL Verdict

Excessively derivative and clich , but stays barely afloat courtesy the committed performances from Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Dhanush and two well choreographed, long action scenes that sums up Netflix's $200 million The Gray Man from the Russo Brothers. I'm going with 2.5 out of 5 stars.