"The Gray Man" review — Netflix blockbuster is bland, uninteresting

“If you wanna make an omelet, you gotta kill some people.”

I’ve always found the career path of sibling filmmaking duo Anthony and Joe Russo fascinating. The two got their break in the early 2000s directing and producing for an array of comedy television series, perhaps best remembered for extensive contributions to both Arrested Development and Community. The two became household names in 2014 when they helmed Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In retrospect, they seem like a strange choice to direct with their feature film experience limited to a pair of mid-budget comedies and the season two paintball episodes of Community. However, The Winter Soldier was a great success and the Russos went on to direct three more films for Marvel Studios, including Avengers: Endgame (2019).

With status far above that of lowly television directors, the Russo Brothers are trying a little bit of everything in their post-Avengers output. From directing the critically-disliked war drama Cherry (2021) to producing one of 2022’s best films, Everything Everywhere All at Once, the Russos are taking a stab at many different films trying to find something that sticks. With their new film The Gray Man, based on the novel of the same name by Mark Greaney, the duo takes another attempt at 200-million dollar blockbuster filmmaking. Unfortunately, their Netflix blockbuster comes off as a personality-less remix of better action films. One part Bourne, one part 007, and one part Mission: Impossible but without any of the character and originality that has made those series so successful. Netflix’s latest attempt to find its own blockbuster franchise is but another disappointment to add to the ever-growing pile of high-budget failures.

Chris Evans in The Gray Man. Photo: Netflix.

The Gray Man revisits a very familiar man-on-the-run type story made famous throughout the spy genre. The film stars Ryan Gosling as Court Gentry, also known by his alias Sierra Six. He’s a black-ops agent for the CIA who performs high-risk, slightly-illegal unilateral military operations. He’s pretty hung up about the whole thing, but these missions are the one thing keeping him from going back to prison. But after an assassination in Bangkok goes sideways, Six goes on the run and every mercenary in the world is after the bounty on his head. Leading the assault is the relentless and sadistic Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), a military contractor reluctantly employed by the CIA. The two enter into a tense game of cat-and-mouse and the bodies pile up in their wake.

Gosling and Evans are solid here. Gosling makes a welcome return to the screen following a long absence since 2018’s First Man. His cool and collected demeanour pulls from the book of John Wick in the best way. Evans makes for a great villain here. Having used his post-Captain America performances to shatter any potential type casting, Evans is a joy as the ever maniacal Hansen. Evans seems to be the only person in the cast enjoying themselves here. Evans loudly declaring “I got shot in the ass!” seems to stand in opposition to the overly self-serious attitude that much of The Gray Man possesses.

The rest of the film’s cast performs to mixed results. Ana de Armas goes incredibly underutilized here. Having done excellent work with both Gosling and Evans before in Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Knives Out (2019) respectively and having proved her action capabilities in last year’s James Bond outing No Time to Die, it is disappointing to see her play such a nothing character here. Brazilian actor Wagner Moura is pitifully underutilized here with too small and too forgettable a role. There’s the inclusion of a character named “Lone Wolf” — a name so cliche and on-the-nose that it’s impossible to take seriously — played by Indian actor Dhanush, a character who exists purely for international crossover appeal. Bridgerton alum Regé-Jean Page is fantastic as villain Denny Carmichael although he’s given pitifully little to do.

Ryan Gosling in The Gray Man. Photo: Netflix.

The action sequences always leave something to be desired. Constantly covered in too much smoke, poor cinematography, and lighting that is far too dim, it’s hard to be excited by images that contain no energy. Even an earlier action sequence lit by fireworks comes across as feeling drab and lifeless. The camera work is a truly atrocious display from cinematographer Stephen F. Windon, who has shot some excellent-looking action sequences in the past. The film strives for the globe-trotting adventure of a James Bond or Mission: Impossible flick without ever giving its locations time to shine.

Netflix seems utterly determined to find itself its own blockbuster franchise. The streamer has captivated audiences with its slew of original series and made waves in the film industry with an assortment of great features from contemporary cinema’s best filmmakers. However, it has never seemed to be able to capture a true blockbuster spectacle. These Netflix action movies always reek of unreality, as if they are an AI-generated approximation of an action film. Like its predecessors The Old Guard (2020) and Extraction (2020), The Gray Man is a big-budget, star-studded exercise in unreality. Completely forgettable and creatively bankrupt, don’t waste your time with this poor excuse of an action flick.

The Gray Man is now streaming on Netflix and playing in select theatres.

The Gray Man information
Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Written by Joe Russo, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Regé-Jean Page, Wagner Moura, Julia Butters, Dhanush, with Alfre Woodard, and Billy Bob Thornton
Released 15 July 2022 (theatrical), 22 July 2022 (Netflix)
129 minutes