Saturday, July 23, 2022

The Gray Man - An Entertaining Movie Filled with Nonstop Explosive & High Octane Action Sequence

After being promoted by Netflix's social media for few weeks, I was looking forward to see this movie once it was released last night. Without hesitation as it has some major names starring in it, I immediately watched this one once I got the chance yesterday evening. OK, let's get to it.

Brief Story Line

Six (Ryan Gosling - First ManBlade Runner 2049 etc) was part of the CIA's program led by Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton - Bad Santa, Fargo TV series etc) that convert ex criminal into a mercenary. After an assignment from one of the CIA chief Denny Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page - Bridgerton TV series etc) and his trusted agent Brewer (Jessica Henwick - UnderwaterThe Matrix Resurrections  etc), Six was somehow being hunted by the CIA.

Carmichael later decided to recruit psychopathic former CIA agent Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans - Knives Out, Captain America: Civil War etc) who did not hesitate to use any means necessary to kill Six. Meanwhile Agent Miranda (Ana de Armas - Deep Water, Overdrive etc) was also suspected of aiding Six and was being hunted as well.

So how would the story conclude? You can find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

This movie was totally amazing in term of action. From the start the action was shown to be quick and well executed. It was awesome looking at Ryan Gosling (or his stunt double) performing the great amazing sequence. And what I really love the most about the movie was it was having almost nonstop action that ranged from standard hand to hand fight to ridiculously incredible car chase and blowing up buildings. There was not a lot of moment that was slow paced and I was never bored watching it.

In term of the story though, I really felt it was very generic. It has a standard plot where the protagonist had to go rogue and being hunted by the employer. So there was nothing to expect on the story with no surprises/twist at all. From what I read, this movie was based on the novel of the same title written by Mark Greaney. It was directed by Russo brothers (Avengers: Infinity WarAvengers: End Game etc) who also produced the movie, which would explain the high octane action and the good use of special effects. Btw, the movie was intended to be a start of new franchise based on The Gray Man novels, so it was no surprise with the kind of ending it had.

For a film that focused on the action, this was definitely a huge success. For 2 hours+ I was fully entertained by the explosive actions throughout. My most favorite part was definitely the one in streets of Prague which was by far one of the most breath taking nonstop action sequence that kept me in awe till it finished. I actually liked that one better than the finale/climax which was great, but a bit similar to other action films, although that final fight was quite satisfying.

Ryan Gosling was very good in this role, meanwhile Chris Evans was convincingly annoying as the bad guy (honestly he was unrecognizable at first to me with his bad looking moustache and slim body compared to his days as Captain America in MCU). There were also support cast that included Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage TV series etc) as former CIA station head, Julia Butters (American Housewife TV series etc) as Claire, Fitz' niece, Callan Mulvey (Till Death etc), famous Indian actor Dhanush and few others.

Overall this movie was definitely satisfying if you are looking for a nonstop wonderful action. With a very hefty budget of $200 million, it really showed with the amazing cinematography and the visual effects. Oh, the movie also has that Fast & Furious feel because of their insane action scenes. So if you are into such movies, then this one is definitely for you. But if you want to have great story to accompany the actions, then likely you will not be thrilled by this film as it was pretty lacking in that area. For me though, I really would not mind if it has further sequels to quench my thirst for high quality explosive actions. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars  

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