The Gray Man is an entertaining but unoriginal entry into an overplayed action subgenre
It is safe to say that if the worlds of The Gray Man, John Wick, and Jason Bourne were reality, then every other person in first world countries would be a covert operative for some shadow network.
Oh, and pretty much everyone would be a weapons expert and a martial arts badass.
This is really becoming a played out genre, lacking originality. But nevertheless, it entertains.
The Gray Man most certainly entertains. It is a fun, however, highly unoriginal movie.
Ryan Gosling continues to weave in and out of what ever genre he likes, and makes it work. Even when I go into a moving thinking he won’t work in that type of role, he does. And surprisingly, he’s quite good as an action actor.
And with Gosling playing Ken in the forthcoming Barbie movie, there is even a Ken doll joke that just works.
The cast, from top to bottom, is clearly having fun. Chris Evans is a wonderful antagonist and Billy Bob Thornton appears to be having a blast (or so it seems) in this environment. The rest of the cast fits the mold and, again, everything just works.
The story attempts to add a few twist and surprises, but The Gray Man is as predictable as they come. Nothing is a surprise. Every outcome is egregiously obvious while trying not to be.
It is a movie that has an equal amount of entertainment value and flaws. If you can overcome the latter, you will enjoy the ride.
Gordon’s Grade: B
