Review of The Gray Man (2022) by Moviemitch96 — 16 Jul 2022

This action flick sees Ryan Gosling as a top mercenary for the CIA, who accidentally uncovers some dark secrets he was never meant to discover, and soon finds himself on the run, targeted and hunted by his psychopathic former colleague (Chris Evans).

Directed and produced by the Russo Brothers (best known for helming 'Captain America: Civil War', 'Avengers: Infinity War', and 'Endgame'), this is an adaptation of the series of 'Gray Man' novels written by Mark Greaney, and it interestingly also happens to come with a rather hefty price tag $200 million, Netflix's most expensive film to date).

And it certainly shows, as the film has no shortage of big and loud explosions and set pieces galore, plenty of brutal hand-to-hand fights, and a relentless pace with almost nonstop action, which admittedly became a bit tiring and a sensory overload of sorts at times, but remained mostly enjoyable nevertheless.

Furthermore, Gosling and Evans are in top action star form here, with the former gracing us with another charming and witty performance and the latter appearing to have a blast in a snarky villainous role for a change.

Solid supporting performances from Ana De Armas, Rege-Jean Page, Alfre Woodard, and Billy Bob Thornton also keep things moving along. Storywise, it's nothing to new or extraordinary to ride home about and certainly draws inspiration from other similarly-themed stories such as the 'Bourne' films and stories, but it remains an entertaining albeit ridiculous ride regardless.

Overall, come for the non-stop action sequences and extravagant explosions and set pieces, and stay for one wild and entertaining showdown between gosling and Evans.