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Netflix has been criticized in recent history for their huge budget movies that ultimately are not very cohesive, entertaining, or memorable. While movies like Extraction, The Adam Project, Spiderhead, and now The Gray Man may gain a lot of traction as soon as they come out (and get picked up for sequels based on that), but audiences are usually quick to drop the project as soon as they picked it up. While the movie looks expensive, starring some of the biggest actors alive and featuring action set pieces that are as big as one would expect from a theatrical release, the plot is nonsensical and ultimately forgettable.
The movie follows a CIA assassin known only as “Sierra Six” (played by Ryan Gosling) who finds out that the CIA black-ops assassination program that hires convicted murderers is not exactly on the level and should not be trusted. He goes on the run after he fails a mission and is given secrets about said program by the former assassin he was sent to kill. To track him down, a former operative named Lloyd is hired (played by Chris Evans), who uses over-the-top violent methods to attempt to bring back Six and more importantly, the information.
The only interesting thing in the movie comes from Chris Evans’ performance as Lloyd, and that interest will only come if someone is familiar with the other roles he has played in the past. Lloyd is such a departure as a character from Steve Rodgers, Johnny Storm, Buzz Lightyear, and even Ransom Drysdale in Knives Out that it makes for a different viewing experience. The problem with the highlight of the film being Chris Evans departing from his usual schtick is that it is not something that speaks to this film as much as it is something that speaks to this actor. If it was a different actor in the role like Kiefer Sutherland for example, the character would be a lot less memorable.
This is another film that values spectacle over story. The movie cost a whopping $200 million and it looks every penny of it, and not a bit of it adds to the experience. The movie could do without a sequence in the middle that features a plane crash, it could have done without a very expensive assault scene with tons of extras, explosions, and firearms, and it could have done without two of the biggest actors on the planet in the leading role. These add-ons are just that, add-ons that should be used like a garnish on a dinner plate to enhance the meal. These things are all crutches that make the film feel better than they are while one watches them but inhibits the long-term memorability of the movie. That said, when they start to overpower, or the underlying story is severely lacking, the overall experience is just hollow.
In all, this movie should be avoided if one is a fan of cinema. That may seem like an overstatement, but consider the following: Netflix spent $200 million on this movie excluding the ad spend, which is typically equal to the production budget. To start, they spent that much money on this movie and have the audacity to start programs to charge users for sharing passwords and jacking up their prices, but beyond that they could have used that much money to make a bunch of sub-$50 million movies. For example, in the last year movies like Old, The Green Knight, and Nobody have clocked in under $25 million and Netflix’s own The Power of the Dog cost about $40 million. If Netflix is going to continue to have the audacity to release these bloated movies, they should at least venture to give them a plot worth investing in.
Final Rating: 5/10
