If The Gray Man is what you get for $200 million Netflix should go directly to the refund line
The possibilities were unlimited and unmet
As an aficionado of all things that include espionage, war, and foreign intrigue, I eagerly anticipated the premiere of the mega-budgeted and equally hyped Netflix feature film, The Gray Man. I had exhausted my repository of features in those genres and when I saw that the vehicle driven by Joe and Anthony Russo would be premiering on Friday, it was appointment TV for me. However, when the credits started rolling after what was to me an anticlimactic ending, I desperately wanted the two hours and 2 minutes that I had invested back.
I understand that one has to suspend a certain level of belief when indulging in this type of movie. Even so, the stretch of credulity that permeates the film begins in the initial scene in which a high-ranking CIA officer is recruiting what we’re told to be an extremely dangerous convict to become part of a special assassination unit. The carrot is that the remainder of his sentence will be commuted if he signs up.
Other scenes that had me catapulting invectives at my TV screen were a mass murder sequence in a nightclub, a violent and disruptive confrontation in a high-profile Prague neighborhood, which fortunately for the filmmakers was uncharacteristically deserted due to the Pandemic, and an unbelievably murderous encounter on an airplane. The latter reminded me of two of my favorite, yet implausible James Bond scenes (pre-Daniel Craig) that in hindsight appeared more real than The Gray Man segment.
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One thing that The Gray Man has going for it is plenty of non-stop action with corpses accumulating in a myriad of picturesque International locations. Scenes were shot in seven different countries, including France, the Czech Republic, Thailand, Croatia, Austria, Azerbaijan, and the US. I guess the cast and crew were trying to amass hotel and airline points. As part of the U.S. filming, the Russos' production team built 21 sets in a 1,2 million square foot former Boeing manufacturing hangar in Long Beach, CA. In addition, the movie's decisive confrontation near the end was filmed at the historical Chateau de Chantilly, near Paris, which I must admit was pretty impressive.
The cast of The Gray Man is on paper, superb with Ryan Gosling as Six, the convict recruit turned trained eliminator and Marvel veteran Chris Evans portraying the designated villain. Others include Billy Bob Thornton, who looked out of place and seemingly sleepwalked through the entire movie, Ana de Armas ( Knives Out ) plays CIA agent Dani Miranda, who teams up with Six, Jessica Henwick ( Game of Thrones ), and Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton), who plays a CIA overlord who wants to destroy the program that allows the rogue agents to do their thing, kill bad guys. Page appears to revel in his assholism and takes it to the next level.
While Gosling delivers his dialogue with great timing and wit, he doesn't engender much of an emotional connection quite possibly because we know virtually nothing of significance about him. By contrast, Evans comes across as the perfect scoundrel initially. But his character is so psychopathic, impulsive, and undisciplined that one wonders why he was held in such high regard by those inside of the agency that felt he was the perfect agent to eliminate Six.
If you're into action flicks and any old one will do or if you have two hours to literally kill, then The Gray Man is worth a look. Otherwise, just watch the trailer and you will have seen the best of this film.