About The Gray Man

Post 1213:

The Gray Man is a new action flick that the Netflix people decided to roll out. Usually I avoid their original films. Anyway, this time I didn’t. Spoilers.

I’m not looking to do an in-depth critique here. I’ll say right off that I enjoyed the crap out of it. Mostly. Ironically, the action was the worst part of the whole deal.

They had some big ideas for action set pieces and I imagined the producers lacked the budget to make it come off. Whenever there’s a fight sequence a puff of smoke and some shaky cam or quick cuts come to save the day. It’s not as bad as the Bourne movies. Still frustrating. And it gives me a lot of appreciation for the work they do on the Mission Impossible and John Wick films.

So besides getting a bad headache from trying to focus on the screen, why did I ultimately like it? Well, this is a rare one. When this action flick is not being an action flick, it’s a lot of fun. It doesn’t take itself seriously, maybe to its detriment, but there are worse sins. The quips and one-liners abound. I love abounding one-liners. I laughed out loud a few times. Chris Evans is a great psycho and Gosling delivers his glib remarks with just the right amount of—whatever actors do.

The plot has some holes. This is not Citizen Kane. There are things that happen that have no sense happening in the real world or movie world. That said, I’d recommend watching the first five minutes. You’ll pick up on the vibe.

I’m thinking with a little more time and a little more money, this could’ve been amazing. It’s not amazing. But it’s fun. Not preachy. The bar isn’t exactly high right now, yeah, but I think I’d enjoy this one in any era. Don’t think too much. Suffer the CGI. Drink a beer and watch good guys and bad guys doing stuff. What? I don’t feel like being eloquent. It wouldn’t fit for this movie, anyway. Cheers and see you after.