Unfortunately, Gray Man will not help Netflix in crisis. Not only is it the most expensive movie in the history of this website (and one of the most expensive in history), it is also completely unsuccessful.
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Gray Man – what is the Russo brothers’ Netflix movie about?
“Gray Man” is the story of a game of cat and mouse, in which a man with the nickname Six takes part (as we know 007 is already busy, so the creators did not look far). He is played by Ryan Gosling . Six is a secret agent hired by the US government that becomes a problem for employers over time. To neutralize him, Denny Carmichael ( Regé-Jean Page ), the leader of a secret organization in the CIA, hires a dishonest and unpredictable contract killer Lloyd Hansen ( Chris Evans ) to neutralize the “six”.
Gray Man, or how to drown $ 200 million
Whenever I watch movies with such absurd budgets, I ask the basic question – is such a huge amount of money invested in production even visible and well-used? And unfortunately more and more often the answer to this question is “no”. This is also the case with “Gray Man”.
Of course, in the Russo brothers’ film, we will see some rather spectacular action sequences, but don’t expect directorial virtuosity here. Like the script (which I will go to in a moment), the action scenes in Gray Man are not only recreating and cutting ideas from earlier movies in this genre (including those of Marvel), but also making it worse.
Anyway, the whole movie can be summed up as “Jason Bourne”, “John Wick” and the Bond movies put together, only worse. There was more tension, momentum, and breathtaking action sequences in the latest Mission: Impossible than there was in the entire two-hour session of Gray Man. And I mention that so far no part of “Mission: Impossible” has cost $ 200 million. All three parts of John Wick didn’t cost those 200 million green papers in total, and each one individually looked and excited a hundred times more.
The next question is, why the hell is Netflix investing all this money in a movie that most people will see on small screens?Let’s face it, most of the audience has huge 4K TVs, because that’s not the case. Also, even if this budget was visible, few would be able to experience it in all its glory. It is also worth mentioning that the money invested in “Gray Man” will almost certainly not return.
Netflix does not make money from distribution per movie, but from subscription for access to the entire library. Logic also dictates that this expense was absurd in at least some respects. But okay, let’s leave these issues aside. But let’s focus on the fact that this money is really not visible. Not only the stupid and secondary script does not deserve such a “pimp”, but seriously, after such a budget (this is one of the largest amounts that can be spent on a film), I expect amazing visual sequences, something that no film has ever offered,Meanwhile, in “Gray Man” the most impressive are a few scenes with interestingly used dynamic shots from the drone .
Here I admit – it’s not bad and attractive. But it doesn’t take $ 200 million for that. All the rest is a few shootings, a short sequence of falling from the plane with a terrible CGI in the background and a chase through the streets of Prague, which is maybe dynamic and solidly filmed, but does not present any previously seen sequence. And in the background you can also see the CGI from the average budget activist around 2008. I am begging you! How is it supposed to look like this, it’s a good thing that this movie did not hit theaters, but then what did the money go to !?
Gray Man – an ultra expensive B class ass
Moving smoothly from at most the correct formal layer to the script, unfortunately I also have no good news. It is known that no one watches action movies for the plot, but it does not mean that the writers will write anything on their knees and everyone should sing with delight. In this case, the creators probably believed in the strength of the cast and deluded the audience with the promise of a budget of the $ 200 million. and skipped the rest, putting together the whole of used from worn-out fictional motifs repeated in this genre for decades.
“Gray Man” starts quite interesting (though without any knocking down), but it quickly loses its momentum, and the whole plot becomes painfully predictable and therefore hellishly boring (the whole second act is simply put to sleep). There is no big stake here, we don’t identify with the characters at all, so this movie doesn’t involve us emotionally. The aforementioned “John Wick” also had a simple script, stitched together with classic elements of action cinema and revenge films, but in that case the creators wrote it so skillfully that we followed this, in fact also predictable and banal story, with flushed faces.
The Gray Man looks back impassively. Like another Netflix movie made by algorithms with checked boxes. In a few years, this movie will be in line with the action boys of the 1980s Chuck Norris. There will certainly be an audience for that. The problem is, the Norris movies didn’t cost a fortune In a few years, this movie will be in line with the action boys of the 1980s Chuck Norris. There will certainly be an audience for that. The problem is, the Norris movies didn’t cost a fortune In a few years, this movie will be in line with the action boys of the 1980s Chuck Norris. There will certainly be an audience for that. The problem is, the Norris movies didn’t cost a fortune
Gray Man – Ryan Gosling vs. Chris Evans
Trailers, posters and all other announcements of “Gray Man” aroused the appetite for the great duel between Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling . Does the film by the Russo brothers satisfy at least in this respect? Also not entirely, although I have the fewest reasons to complain about this. Of course, we will not see a great acting duel (the background is also just there and that’s it). The gentlemen don’t even have too many scenes together. Each of them also plays a little to their own goal.
Here, Gosling is the closest to superhero creation in his career. His character is a man of a few words and concrete deeds. A capable killer with a straight face, although he also has a heart, and at times he will shine with a few nice one-liners. Nothing fancy, but not bad. Evans, on the other hand, probably had a lot of fun on the set, as his character is actually having a good time. Not that it was an outstanding creation, but it’s also hard to find fault with anything.
Well, maybe except that as a villain Evans does not make such an impression as playing the role of golden-souled heroes. You can see that in “Gray Man” he does his best to introduce the audience to a disgusting “bad guy”, but in my opinion it is not good for him. Besides, his character is definitely not a villain who will go down in the annals of pop culture.
He’s not such a bastard and a bastard so that at the very end we feel great satisfaction or catharsis when she gets it (sorry for this shocking and unexpected spoiler). And actually the whole movie is like this – aimed at medium registers. It is supposed to attract attention with “trinkets”, but it cannot engage, excite or fascinate too much. Everything perfectly averaged, as if drawn with a ruler. As if it was created by robots.
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Gray Man – movie rating
It’s not good. If it were a movie for, say, $ 80-100 million. (this is what looks to my eye), I would be a little more gracious in assessing, but also without exaggeration, because he is really an average B-class action kid. With such a budget and cast, I was expecting a pop culture event this summer. I received an average that I will forget about in a week. And the Russo brothers prove that without the Marvel team they are quite average laborers. Much Ado About Nothing …
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Gray Man Review: $ 200 million disaster
Summary
I would be a little more gracious in assessing this movie Gray Man, but also without exaggeration, because he is really an average B-class action kid. With such a budget and cast, I was expecting a pop culture event this summer.