The Gray Man

The Russo brothers' supposed answer to the Bond franchise is a product of popcorn entertainment that is defined by giving the audience want they want and ...

The second is when Ryan (Six) and Chris (Lloyd) fight it out in the climax, and the former is reminded of a traumatic episode from the past, that sort of accentuates his anger. That is not the only “Indian” thing to do. The Gray Man isn’t really about the plot, nor is it about the screenplay. In the prelude, when Fitzroy asks Six to work for the agency as if doing him a favour, it is hard not to be reminded of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, where Leonard DiCaprio is put through a similar situation, wherein he remains a ghost in the larger scheme of things within the system. A nameless character, Ryan Gosling is hired by Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) as part of CIA’s Sierra programme, that essentially recruits convicted killers with a past, allowing them to secretly work for the agency as skilled assassins. Ryan with a beard and Chris with that awkward moustache try very hard to sell their persona; Sierra Six, a loner who flexes his masculinity to save the day, and Lloyd Hansen as a megalomaniac toxic male.

After a limited theatrical debut, Netflix's newest attempt at building a blockbuster franchise, The Gray Man, has arrived and so far, it's going somewhat ...

There’s too much talent on board for browsing audiences to flick past it, and if it’s entertaining enough for fans, well, it doesn’t really matter what critics think. It became Netflix’s most-viewed original movie by a good margin, and is getting at least one sequel as a result. If a movie is popular and enjoyed by fans, that’s enough to consider it a success. Captain America: The Winder Soldier and both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame have 85%+ scores, and similarly high marks from audiences. I expect this to rocket up the Netflix charts over the weekend here, and I would be surprised if this did not end up becoming one of their most viewed movies by the end of its initial run here. To be clear, critics have normally liked the Russo’s work in the Marvel universe.

Review By: Jonathan W. Hickman. Film Details: Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. Cast: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, ...

One frustrating aspect of “The Gray Man” is the fight sequences. Comparisons to “John Wick” here expose the lack of weight of these fight sequences. I suspect we will see more of him in the inevitable “Gray Man” sequel and other English language Hollywood projects. Where Wick appears to be delivering (and taking) blows, the punches thrown in “The Gray Man” don’t seem to have a visceral impact. Still, the way the camera ramps up and ramps down is distracting. Few would argue that she was one of the best things, if not the best thing, about the last Bond film, “No Time To Die.” That sequence in Havana was terrific, causing fans to swoon. And if you turn off your moral compass, there’s fun to be had with “The Gray Man.” Obviously, viewers shouldn’t dwell too much on the efficacy of any decision made by the characters in “The Gray Man.” It would be impossible to make perfect sense of any one motivation. If only we got more elegance and less barbaric action sequences, “The Gray Man” would have been a far better movie. And where their last movie, 2021’s drug drama “Cherry,” failed to resonate, a return to the action genre definitely agrees with the twosome. The set-up for “The Gray Man” is excellent. Both men were part of a top-secret program led by the surly Fitzroy (a gray man himself, Billy Bob Thornton) that takes criminals and puts them to work as covert operatives.

Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans face off in this globetrotting spy movie from the directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.

Kudos to the filmmakers, by the way, for those florid Evil Dead-like establishing shots shot from a drone, which capture large swaths of the city and shake things up from the usual. Promoted as Netflix’s most expensive movie to date, The Gray Man is undeniably polished and entirely engrossing, though like most of the streaming service’s offerings, it feels more like disposable entertainment than event cinema. (See previous articles for more details on The Gray Man’s shooting locations in Prague). This slam-bang sequence, largely accomplished using practical effects outside of shots of Prague architecture being smashed up to pieces, is beautifully choreographed and executed, and easily the film’s biggest highlight. Twenty years after he’s recruited, Six finds himself in Bangkok and assigned to take out a target by slick new CIA honcho Denny Carmichael ( Regé-Jean Page) before said target can sell off valuable government data. Still, one might wish this real-life spy movie took things more seriously than a comic book blockbuster; The Gray Man’s destructive action sequences seem to unfold without much consequence, while its characters never miss an opportunity to make a lighthearted quip.

Sprung from prison to be trained as a CIA hitman, Ryan Gosling is Six, aka The Gray Man (15A). Lethal, charming and handsome, he's an American James Bond.

Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas go head to head in an explosive and expensive thriller from the Russo brothers, on Netflix now.

In the wake of public shootings in the US, Denmark and Norway (and that's just this year) this callous ultraviolence hits different. The quippy banter and sharp action are heightened and stylized, and just a ton of fun. But then there's a huge showdown in the streets of a European city. Maybe I'm squinting too hard to suggest this is Netflix's smartest action film, but it's definitely one of the most fun. On paper, The Gray Man has all the elements of a formulaic spy genre (and I do mean all the elements -- there's about four movies' worth of stuff going on). Thumb drives. That's what sets The Gray Man apart from formulaic plods like Extraction or Amazon's turgid Without Remorse. From the opening scene, in which Gosling goes into battle in a crisp scarlet suit twirling a water pistol, to his silent silhouetted dispatching of a platoon of bodyguards with whatever cutlery comes to hand, the flick has swagger to burn. Rooftop helipads and secure lines and guys making the bullets fall out of a gun before the other guy can shoot him. At least de Armas' appearance in Bond film No Time to Die was essentially a cameo, but this is a waste of the white-hot star of the moment. After 60 years of James Bond on screen, after six (and counting) Mission: Impossible movies, a spy movie hinges on a frickin' thumb drive! "We get it, you're glib," Thornton responds, but as Gosling contemplates a life of murder for the government, his eyes soften mournfully. This rip-roaring and star-powered spy romp from the Russo brothers throws all the money at the screen as Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans go head to head. Following a string of wildly popular but not very good action movies (Red Notice, Extraction), Netflix delivers with The Gray Man, streaming now.

Much like Brad Pitt before him, Ryan Gosling keeps falling into Hollywood's “cool guy” trap.

He’s pulled off the taciturn heroes of Drive, Blade Runner 2049, and First Man, but also the shambling, overconfident private detective Holland March in The Nice Guys, the scumbag trader Jared Vennett in The Big Short, and the kind-hearted but awkward Lars of Lars and the Real Girl. He was at his least interesting as a do-gooder cop in Gangster Squad, and that’s what The Gray Man recalled for me above all. Given that the government honed him as a “gray man” who could blend into the background of any assignment, he spends the majority of the movie glowering and mumbling when he’s not being tossed into another CGI-powered combo of running, jumping, and shooting. In return, he delivers the all-purpose steely charm required of him, but there’s no passion behind it. The actor he’s frequently reminded me of is Brad Pitt, who catapulted to fame in the early ’90s with striking work in Thelma and Louise, bolstered by his chiseled face. One of his best-remembered films remains the taut 2011 thriller Drive, in which he played an unnamed stunt driver who is cool behind the wheel but monosyllabic in conversation. In First Man, he portrayed the astronaut Neil Armstrong as prickly and standoffish, far more ready to face his work than any interpersonal relationship.

Netflix's 'The Gray Man' seems poised for sequels and prequels, starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. Here's what we know about 'The Gray Man 2.'

It’s the talking point of most media buzz, and it’s the first thing we should get out of the way: at somewhere around $200 million, The Gray Man (starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans) is now Netflix’s most expensive original movie. Scott Stuber, Netflix’s head of global film told The New York Times he’s been hoping to help the company break into big franchise action films since he arrived five years ago. That’s not including a vague CIA chief known as “the old man.” And there are precedents; big movies have paid off in the past. It’s too soon to tell whether this strategy will pay off, but it does suggest a forward-looking film cycle, where Netflix hopes to run several action franchises simultaneously. The budget matters.

How does Netflix's 'The Gray Man' stack up against Mark Greaney's novel? We've got everything you need to know about 'The Gray Man' book ending here.

Court doesn’t have much time to rest, as Marc Laurent — the Monsieur Laurent of LaurentGroup — arrives at the château in his helicopter. By the time Court arrives in Normandy, Phillip has been shot dead by a sniper while trying to prevent Claire from escaping the compound to alert the police, and the Gray Man has amassed enough wounds to need a medicinal cocktail of blood, dextrose, narcotics, and amphetamines to make it the last few miles to the château. After Court refuses Fitzroy’s offer to set up another extraction, the handler reveals that the “Nigerians” — in actuality, mercenaries hired by LaurentGroup — are holding Phillip and his family in Normandy and will kill them if Court isn’t dead within the next 48 hours. Greaney’s 2009 novel follows Courtland “Court” Gentry — aka the Gray Man, a former CIA operative who now works as a hired killer, trying to stay one step ahead of his former allies, who have orders to shoot him on sight. He’s arranged for Fitzroy’s son, Phillip, to be kidnapped — along with Phillip’s wife, Elise, and their 8-year-old twin daughters, Claire (Julia Butters) and Kate — and held at Château Laurent in Normandy. The family is as good as dead, unless Fitzroy complies. The primary antagonist refers to Nigerians as “savages” twice, and his statement goes unchallenged, both by the other characters and by the text as a whole.

Pitting Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling) and Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) against each other in front of an ornate French fountain was quite the choice for the film's ...

It all leads to the mess that The Gray Man sees its characters at the heart of, as the ambitious Denny Carmichael gets both Fitzroy and Cahill out of CIA leadership. Speaking of which, there are plenty of consequences to go around in this universe, but all of that naturally depends on how well this first Sierra Six adventure does with the crowd. If you’re hungry for more knowledge, our last offering is this rundown of what we knew about The Gray Man, prior to actually seeing the film. Joe Russo: It seemed, yeah…we struggled over that for a long, long time…Seemed too, it just, again, like, we, we used to always say this with the Marvel work, you know, there has to be stakes, you know what I'm saying? You’ll notice that we’ve barely mentioned Chris Evans’ Lloyd Hansen, the Gray Man villain critics can’t stop talking about, in our examination of this ending. As both know what really happened throughout this entire CIA shit show, they’re pretty much public enemies #1 and #2. Or at least, that would be the official viewpoint of the two parties that have the most to lose from this mess. One could say it’s a small price to pay for backing Suzanne’s story that Lloyd Hansen was behind every single screwup we saw in The Gray Man. However, it’s a price that’s soon voided out. However, there are two conditions: Court goes back to prison, and the niece of his late mentor, Donald (Billy Bob Thornton), is placed under CIA lock and key. Should you want to know more about the movie without spoilers, read our official review of The Gray Man. Otherwise, let the madness begin, starting with what happened at the end of Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans’ insane confrontation. Pitting Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling) and Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) against each other in front of an ornate French fountain was quite the choice for the film’s final fight. If you haven’t watched the movie yet and want to go in cold, this is the point of no return. Simultaneously, the tracks to the future are laid pretty effectively, as Ryan Gosling protagonist Court Gentry has been mixing it up with his enemies for 11 books, with a 12th on the way.

Netflix's next big new July move is “The Gray Man,” a CIA thriller film starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. Sadly, it's not good.

Meanwhile, “The Gray Man” seems destined to the same fate. Even “Bridgerton” and “Squid Game” may prove to be fluke hits. (Disney+ and HBO Max are the main players here, but even Peacock and Paramount+ immediately conjure images of NBC comedies and “Star Trek” respectively.) But after coming face-to-face with large-scale streamers that bring a defined brand to the table, Netflix's lack of a defined lane has become a detriment. This means in a way it is also the perfect Netflix film: something that looks like other things you like to watch, without actually demanding you watch it. Leading man Gosling has never had much of a defined personality, but here he fades into the background of his own movie.