The Gray Man, the Netflix movie starring Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling, and Ana de Armas, is receiving mixed reviews on Twitter in the first round of reactions. The film is based on the book series by Mark Greaney, as The Gray Man follows a top CIA agent on a global chase after discovering dark agency secrets. Helmed by Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo, the movie features Evans as its villain, a role the Russo brothers previously revealed has been planned since the production of 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
In the book series by the same name, The Gray Man follows former CIA agent and freelance assassin Court Gentry (Gosling) on a mission across Europe as he tries to protect himself and his family, hunted by Evans' Lloyd Hansen. There have been attempts to turn the Gray Man novel series into a movie before, with James Gray attached to direct in 2011 and Christopher McQuarrie in 2016. However, these versions fell through, and in July 2020, Netflix announced plans to adapt The Gray Man with the Russos directing. The film will release on Netflix on July 15.
Early reactions to The Gray Man have now begun to appear on Twitter, and the results are mixed. Some reviews praise its action sequences and Gosling and Evans' chemistry as foes, such as film critic Courtney Howard. However, comments from entertainment reporter Germain Lussier and Next Best Picture owner Matt Neglia point out the redundancy of 'agent on the run' action movies like John Wick and Mission Impossible, and early signs of an predictable plot with little pay off. Others criticized the movie’s story as obvious, arguing The Gray Man was simply a vehicle for star-studded money making. Film critic David Ehrlich criticized the action scenes for being bland, while Kyle Buchanan even compared the film to an AI-simulated movie. Read some reactions below:
As some of these reviews highlight, Evans' villainous side is something that many audiences have long been keen to see. Based on these first reactions, the performances of the movie's core trio in Evans, Gosling and de Armas seem to entertaining at the very least, even if the story is not always a compelling one. The comparison to Netflix's mega-hit Red Notice is interesting, and indicates that perhaps the film's VFX work is slightly wanting despite its impressive cast. However, audiences did not necessarily agree with critics' reviews of Red Notice either, and perhaps The Gray Man will fare better with general audiences when it hits the streaming service.
At first glance, these reactions tease that the The Gray Man is a star-studded, but perhaps generic, movie with fun but overdone action scenes. However, there is certainly still plenty of anticipation surrounding the movie given the pairing of Gosling and Evans in this 'cat and mouse' dynamic, which appears to be tactical and exciting. The Gray Man will have to fight for a spot among summer action blockbusters, and it will be interesting to see if the story depth from the books and the stars’ chemistry is enough to make it more than just another spy thriller.
Source: Twitter (various, see links above)