Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, Dhanush, Rege-Jean Page
Language: English
The Gray Man is the Russo Brothers’ next big directorial since The Avengers Endgame. The film follows the story of Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling), a CIA Special Ops assassin who is on the run after finding some evidence against the agency. Trained to survive and possessing razor sharp killer skills, Six is pursued by CIA-hired contract killer Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) and a few other assassins, including The Lone Wolf (Dhanush). In the middle of all the world-trotting spy adventure, Six is also on a crusade to save his mentor’s teenage niece.
The Gray Man has all the hallmarks of a spy thriller. Big budget ammunition, overseas flights, exotic foreign locales and cut-throat assassins all rolled into one package. However, the cliched dialogues, the poor cast, and not to mention a plot with a lot of holes, make this film a damp squib. The things that do work are some kick-ass fight sequences, the few moments of Dhanush’s appearance and Chris Evans being badass and not saving the world.
It was refreshing and almost fun to see Chris Evans carry out the role of a sociopathic ex-CIA contract killer who will go to any lengths to get his job done. In The Gray Man he doesn’t shoulder any world-saving responsibility and is just a plain good old villain. His acting chops do him credit and his scenes are some of the better ones in the movie. Ryan Gosling seems to always have a sullied look throughout The Gray Man. Should we look at it as just jadedness or him just sporting a poker face? Either way, he doesn’t exactly fit the role of a ruthless spy, despite some super sleek fight scenes. Watch him in the scene where he gets himself out of a well with just a tap to help, or the scene where he fights it out with Dhanush in a veterinary hospital. But however, the drab dialogues and the cliched one-liners take away the so-called thrill and only make us want to roll our eyes harder!
Maybe I am biased, but Dhanush does pull off an excellent fight sequence with elan, though his parting line is again, a cliche – something that ails this film throughout. I am still reeling with the cast of Regé-Jean Page as Denny Carmichael, one of the top guys in the CIA. Maybe it’s my Bridgerton hangover talking, but the Duke surely did not feel like CIA material.
Barring a few action sequences and an almost free trip around the world, The Gray Man just leaves us wanting more. Secret missions aside, there has to be more to a spy thriller than just flashy scenes. And The Gray Man seems to be lacking in that area.
Rating: 2/5
