On July 22, the Netflix library was replenished with another potential hit and, perhaps, the streaming service's most anticipated film of this summer, starring world cinema stars. 'The Gray Man' was supposed to be worthy competition for James Bond, J...
'The Gray Man' was released during a turbulent time for Netflix. Over the past six months, the streaming service has lost more than a million subscribers for a variety of reasons, yet it still remains the leader in user count, outpacing its closest competitor Disney+ by more than 80 million (even factoring in Hulu and ESPN+, owned by the 'mouse corporation,' the 'tudum' platform still leads by 15 million households).
Nevertheless, the streaming service took the downturn optimistically and is already making plans for the future, hoping to maintain its leadership. Users can expect franchises based on original projects (a dozen films and series are already being discussed), new cinematic experiments, games, the introduction of advertising to reduce subscription costs, exclusive premieres, TV shows, and who knows what else the corporation will come up with to attract attention to the platform. But if they keep churning out projects like from a test tube, they won't get far. First 'Red Notice,' now 'The Gray Man.' Netflix clearly has some issues with its color palette.
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Open materialWhat's the Plot?
Court Gentry (Ryan Gosling) is a criminal serving a long prison sentence, but CIA agent Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) sees potential use for the young man for the state and recruits him, turning him into a special agent. Gentry undergoes special training and becomes a gray man under the code name Sierra Six.
18 years later, on a joint mission with Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas) Six eliminates his colleague — Sierra Four, who hands him a chip with compromising material on the chief (Regé-Jean Page). The special agent refuses to hand over the chip, so he becomes the next target. Hiding on the streets of Bangkok, Six aims to get to Prague while the whole world, led by the mercenary volunteer thug Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans), hunts him.
A Colorful World is Dangerous
After finishing work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the directing brothers Anthony and Joe Russo started making films for streaming services. After the final part of 'The Avengers' in 2019, the brothers made the crime drama 'Cherry' starring Tom Holland for Apple TV+, released in 2021, and now 'The Gray Man' for Netflix. Honestly, the Russos' work outside the superhero genre hasn't been as bright so far.
Taking on the adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mark Greaney, the brothers hoped to create a commercial project that raises acute issues and shows producers by example that investing in auteur films from directors offering something outside the box can be profitable. Only Joe and Anthony completely forgot to imbue the film with suspense and offer viewers a fresh take on action movies.
'The Gray Man' looks like a set of clichés and utterly hackneyed second-rate techniques from action movies of the 80s and 90s, but with special effects from 2022. If the film was made with a serious subtext, one might think the directors take viewers for fools who have seen absolutely nothing in the genre. Similar to 'Red Notice' with another Ryan in one of the lead roles, the new Netflix blockbuster seems made by the simplest formula: big budget + very popular actors + expensive special effects + a simple plot with recognizable archetypes. It seems if a neural network could make movies, they would turn out exactly like this.
Of course, you can't fault the action in the film; after all, a budget of 200 million opens up almost limitless possibilities. Therefore, all the explosions, fight choreography, and scenes with shooting and various stunts are executed at the highest level. The only problem is that none of this is seasoned with any meaningful level. Running around a dozen countries for the sake of running around and explosions for the sake of spectacle. Apart from perhaps the actors, 'The Gray Man' is no different from run-of-the-mill action movies. The entire two-hour spectacle feels more like hack work under the Netflix logo than a film that opens up opportunities for expensive auteur cinema in the spirit of .
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Open materialStarring: Ryan Gosling…
The brilliant cast is unable to pull the film up to stand alongside its competitors. Ryan Gosling either remains silent and chews gum for two hours or spouts clichéd lines. The actor probably got the most ordinary role of his career, something he had successfully avoided before.
Assisting Gosling is Ana de Armas, who almost repeats her role from , only doing it less successfully and vividly. But without Chris Evans, 'The Gray Man' would clearly look much worse. The former Captain America once again transforms into an antagonist, only this time into the ultimate thug, not just a charming villain like in 'Knives Out.' And Evans looks quite organic.
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Open material
Besides the three main characters, there are, of course, other characters. For example, the woman attached to Evans' character (Jessica Henwick) from the upper echelons of power, who constantly yells at Lloyd Hansen and laments that his methods are too cruel and that he has messed up and made a mess that the whole team will have to clean up. Or the girl Claire (Julia Butters), for whom Six feels warm paternal feelings. Julia herself looks very good in the role and shines with her charisma, but her character is not only an orphan who has to be saved in the film just because the script requires it, but the girl also has a pacemaker. Wow, why so much? All that's missing is a fatal disease or disability so the viewer definitely understands how helpless the child is.
Almost all the supporting characters are bland and unmemorable, merely serving as puppets to advance the plot. Given that the streaming service wants to turn 'The Gray Man' into a franchise, it's interesting to see which direction the already confirmed sequel will go. Of course, a huge number of subscribers will watch the film. Perhaps 'The Gray Man' will even break some streaming records and become the hit of the quarter, but how expedient and thoughtful will a continuation of such a mediocre film be? That's an open question.
A Whirlwind Tour of Europe
The film's action takes place in a dozen countries, but the film crew hardly visited each one. Maybe two or three, and even then, drones helped with the filming. Over two hours, the viewer jumps from country to country at great speed, barely keeping up with the cool and nimble Six. On the way to the finale, 'The Gray Man' pieces together famous reference films: 'Mission: Impossible,' 'James Bond,' 'Léon: The Professional,' 'John Wick,' 'Fast & Furious,' 'Jason Bourne,' seasoning it all with strange drone camera flights, quotes (how inappropriate Schopenhauer and the myth of Sisyphus are, you'd know) and references. At one point, there's even an obvious reference to 'Barbie,' where Ken has the appearance of Sierra Six.
After all these thrilling races, the film comes to an incredibly sluggish finale. The villains are not punished, the ending is very blurry, the task of addressing the suspenseful issues is not accomplished. There seems to be a setup for a sequel, but in case of failure, a period could be put here (it feels like Netflix is taking a risk and considering both options). And so two hours pass, fifteen-minute credits start rolling on the screen, and you sit/lie there and don't understand: either you were cheated, being handed chewed gum wrapped back in its wrapper so as not to get caught, or the gum has such a specific taste that you just didn't get its joke, and the chewed-up nature serves as a highlight understandable only to true connoisseurs.
What's the Verdict?
It is unknown whether the streaming service will take into account the mistakes of the first film, change directors, or be satisfied with the final result, but one way or another, the franchise has been launched. 'Red Notice' will become a trilogy, 'The Gray Man' will continue to fight for its place in the sun among the spy action franchises of competing studios. Are these really the films worth making in the hope of attracting viewers?
Of course, you can't call the film outright bad, but it's far from good. Truly, it's the most average, run-of-the-mill action movie to relax in front of the screen and watch cool guys and gals demolish the capital of the Czech Republic with a tram due to the dishonesty of a state trying to eliminate its evidence.
Perhaps the best and most succinct answer to questions like: 'Did 'The Gray Man' succeed? Is it a decent film? Did the Russos make good use of Netflix's money?' would be a slightly modified phrase from the film, repeated several times: 'It's just an ordinary movie.' The most run-of-the-mill one. No more, no less.
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