The Gray Man is your typical ‘spy gone rogue’ story. It’s about an off the books Assassin who uncovers a plot that goes against everything he stands for and then goes rogue and is hunted as he tries to rescue those who are important to him. It’s typical Jason Bourne stuff. The only difference is, this is directed by the Russo Brothers, who are famous for their high octane and sometimes outlandish action sequences and their trickle of humour throughout. And this movie is full of that. From sky-diving fights to insane car chases and explosions, the movie had its fair share of chaos, which was a lot of fun.
But what made the movie was its phenomenal cast. Ryan Gosling’s dry and ‘over it’ demeanour is always enjoyable to watch. Like when a villain is describing her grand plan, and he interrupts her, telling her to just get to the point because he was losing a lot of blood. Or when he is told to comply, so he asks if he can do so against a statue where he can rest. Or his general limited facial expressions that somehow convey a lot of intense emotions. This, against the contrast of Chris Evans’ charismatic and psychopathic villain, was so much fun to watch. Why isn’t Chris Evans playing more bad guys? He was the kind of character you hate but love at the same time. He was funny, charming, but equally scary and devoid of morals. Also, he rocked a mean moustache. He played the ‘total douchebag’ so well.
Billy Bob Thornton is good in anything he touches, but who really stole the show was Ana de Armas. With her stunning looks and badassery as well as her no-nonsense attitude, I enjoyed her character in this movie.
I think the cast makes the bulk of this movie as it is just another spy movie, but this is a spy movie with a good cast and some well-written characters and I hope to see more in the future.
