Streaming Sundays: The Gray Man (2022)

On Sunday Streams, we will be bringing you films that are available for streaming. This week, we are  highlighting Netflix’s latest action-thriller, The Gray Man.

The Russo Brothers and Netflix are at it again with another adrenaline-infused action movie with a smorgasbord of heart-pumping sequences that will leave you asking for more. Unlike their last action collaboration, Extraction (2020), the Russos opted to jump back into the director’s chair this time around – most of us are glad they did. Their latest Netflix original, The Gray Man (2022), now holds the top spot for Netflix’s U.S. movie category. It is also available to see on the big screen for a limited time. The reasons why it shot to number one on Netflix are obvious. An aesthetically pleasing action movie [emphasis on the action] with an all-star ensemble cast always wins – especially with big names like Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans attached.

We find ourselves in a glossy, modern-day world where we are following Six (Ryan Gosling) on another globe-trotting covert mission to assassinate a “bad guy” on behalf of the CIA with the help of Dani Miranda (Ana De Armas). In this sequence, we learn all we need to know about Six: he’s an anti-hero with a heart of gold. As skilled and ruthless as he is when “working,” he draws the line at taking the life of a child. Once Six refuses a direct order from his superior, Carmichael (played by Regé-Jean Page), Six has to call in favors from his former boss, Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton). However, Fitzroy is soon compromised when Carmichael unleashes a psychopathic contract killer named Floyd (Chris Evans), who takes Fitzroy and his granddaughter (Julia Butters) hostage. 

All the performances were believable for an action-assassin, espionage thriller. What made the characters the most entertaining was how they each reacted against Evans’ character, Lloyd. Gosling’s Six was a close second (naturally as the lead), but Lloyd was the clear standout. Not only is Evans playing against the characters we have normally seen him portray in recent pictures, we get an extreme comical side that we haven’t seen from Evans since he starred in The Losers. He delivers the best lines in the film where you will literally find yourself laughing out loud. It’s not just the lines paired with the bat-shit behavior – it is also the look. The mustache, the tight shirts, and the white pants – so extreme, yet subtle. It was necessary for this story. We all know your hero is only as good as your villain, and The Gray Man gave us a damn good one.

This movie puts you right in the action with the camera movement literally torpedoing through the fight scenes and shootouts. Camera work was sleek – so sleek sometimes that you feel like you are in a video game or dare I say, the Metaverse? The sets also feed into that aesthetic when you take in all the bright colors – blues, greens, yellows, pinks – very different hues compared to your standard action flick. The color pink really stood out and gave the night scenes a futuristic vibe. The “fight-night” scenes in particular, where Six has his most intense fights, have a lingering pink hazy, dreamy-like filter that was especially pleasing to the eye.

SPOILER ALERT: There were so many amazing action moments jam-packed into this film and everyone will have their preferences, but we can all agree that the first action scene in Bangkok by the fireworks set the tone. From there, we watch Six jump out of a plane and choke a man out with his own parachute in the sky, he beat a dude to death with a flashlight, he gets stabbed through the hand at the hospital and runs off the top of a train onto Miranda’s car. A lot happens which justifies why this “gray man” is so in-demand. The action does overpower the core story, but this is an action film, not a melodrama so it is exempt from a lot of the normal plot issues that we normally complain about. The performances are so delightful that the ensemble and stunts make up for what the story lacks. 

There were a few aspects about the story that did surprise me – namely, the fact that they address De Armas’ character always saving Gosling’s character. As a result, we get to this grand showdown between Six and Lloyd – but the wildest part about it is this showdown doesn’t need to happen. Miranda is literally in the wings, ready to take a shot if Six gets Lloyd to move into her range, but Six nixes that plan. He wants his moment – that knock-down drag out melee that happens in all action films. It almost annoyed me until I realized that Six would definitely pull this shit in such a crucial moment. He just has to kill Lloyd himself, much like he just had to kill his father but he didn’t want to use the gun this time. Now that he’s a full grown man, he can release all that childhood anger and angst on a man his own size. Not saying I agree with Six’s decision to take on Lloyd “man-to-man,” but I get it. Plus, it was satisfying for the audience to finally get that “mono y mono” moment.

The Gray Man is an ode to all the action films of the past by continuing the tradition of putting the action above all. Watch this movie if you want to have fun and immerse yourself in a great action story with leads you want to root for.

The Gray Man is streaming exclusively on Netflix.