Review by: David North-Martino

The Gray Man (2022) is an action thriller directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and stars Ryan Gosling (Drive), Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger), Ana de Armas (No time to Die), Jessica Henwick (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Alfre Woodard (Star Trek: First Contact) and Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa).

The Gray Man is based on the book of the same name by Mark Greaney. Ryan Gosling plays Sierra Six, a black ops assassin for the CIA who goes on the run after uncovering agency secrets. Along the way, he’s helped by CIA agent Dani Miranda (de Armas). Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a former CIA agent plays the Big Bad here.

Gosling plays his role, as usual, pretty flatline. Although, a CIA assassin probably needs a cool demeanor to carry out that type of work. Still, a little more dynamism would have been appreciated.

The pacing is done well, keeping the proceedings moving fairly quickly. Cinematography is workman-like and aided by a beautiful 4K HDR transfer. This is reportedly Netflix’s most expensive film to date, and it shows.

The movie was well cast and was a lot of fun. Depending on your tastes, you’ll either like or hate Evans’ over-the-top performance. He chews a lot of scenery, but his portrayal isn’t too distracting.

For those requiring realism in the world of spies and want to see accurate tradecraft presented on screen, you’ll have to look elsewhere. If you’re expecting a few hours of quick-paced action with a reasonable amount of story and decent acting, it’s probably worth the watch.
If you enjoy The Gray Man a sequel and a spin-off are already in the works.

The Gray Man is streaming on Netflix.

Story Doctoring:

A good 30 minutes could be clipped from the ending. I would have liked to see more personality from Gosling and less from Evans.

Rating: Three out of five stars.