A Commemorative Gesture to Spy Thrillers (The Gray Man)

The Gray Man was probably one of the most anticipated Netflix original movies this year as it distracts you with hard-hitting action sequences and big stars, all helmed by the Russo Brothers in their return to action thrillers. Netflix has a track record of having at least one or two big-budget movies like this to show off how the streaming services have gone beyond their reliance on good storytelling to having spectacle visuals. Unlike Stranger Things which has grown in quality in both aspects, Netflix action thrillers have always been on the losing end more often when it comes to compelling stories. The Gray Man is no exception.

The film shoves its way with aimless bombastic sequences instead of providing the right ingredients that made the spy genre so popular. The Gray Man is more of a commemorative gesture than creating its own space within the likes of the Bond and Mission Impossible franchises. One thing is for certain is that this is a Russo Brothers flick. From their camera work to their reliance more hand-to-hand combat, there's no denying what made these directors a household name is shown here but it is sad to say, that there are no shots worth swooning over after their more successful attempts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Along the way, The Gray Man loses its main premise to being more brutal as each act ends, and has an ending that does not make sense. Audiences might expect a double cross or a plot twist to convince audiences that they didn't waste their time watching this 2-hour flick. Despite being a homage to the said genre, they fail to do the one thing that drives films like this to be rewatched. 

The cast is large and almost everyone here is a star in their own right. Ryan Gosling dons an interesting role here but he tackles it almost similar to his previous action roles that you feel like he hasn't broken character since. The real player here is Chris Evan. It has been a long while since Evans had some snark and a chip on his shoulder as the notorious and maniacal Lloyd. Evans finally breaks out of his near typecasting to become a sociopathic villain you secretly find more interesting. From Tamil cinema, Dhanush hits harder than anyone else in 2 sequences where he defeats two protagonists before even saying a word, making his presence in this clunky film a viable reason why the film will rack up a few million views on its first week of streaming. 

Ana De Armas, as the badass she may seem, is wasted as a supporting main role just behind Gosling. One cannot complain when the film centers around the 'Gray Man' but at least her experience in action definitely shines a light on her to hopefully don a better, more complex character who just happens to know to fight. Whether it's Jessica Henwick or Rege-Jean Page, no character in this film is worth diving into as the character arcs the writers are introducing here seem to lead to more predictable territories that were already explored in other action franchises. 

The Gray is probably the movie you are planning to watch this weekend since there isn't many popcorn flicks left in Malaysian cinemas, but once the next week rolls around, the hype for this flick will be forgotten as something we didn't need all along, no matter excited you were to finally watch it.