While “The Gray Man” showcases Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Regé-Jean Page, this globe-hopping action thriller, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, is more interested in pounding pulses and taking breaths than throbbing hearts. It is a big, noisy, explosive adrenaline rush — a live-action spin on that old “MAD” magazine comic, “Spy vs. Spy” — and about as deep.
The story is simple. Six (Ryan Gosling) is recruited in prison by Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) to be a “gray man” and work for the CIA killing bad guys as part of the Sierra program, an elite unit. During one mission — to take out Dining Car (Callan Mulvey) — Six goes rogue. However, Dining Car reveals he is “Sierra Four” and Six will be targeted next. Four gives Six a medal that contains an encrypted drive with compromising information that incriminates Denny Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page), Six’s boss, who is high up in Langley.
Dining Car, however, discloses that Six will be the next victim and that he is “Sierra Four.” Six receives a medal from Four that contains a disk that has been encrypted and contains damning information that implicates Denny Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page), Six’s superior at Langley.
With this terrible turn of events, Denny, who is not happy, employs independent agent Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) to murder Six and retrieve the disk by any means possible. That does not stop Lloyd, a man with “zero impulse control,” from torturing people or destroying European cities. The action set pieces are pretty nifty, though. One dizzying sequence has Six fighting his way out of a plane that is pretty much coming apart as it goes down. Another episode involves him McGuyvering his way out of a sticky situation best not to be explained, except to say it is pretty ingenious. Then there is a massive shootout while Six is handcuffed to a bench, and an exciting, extended chase scene on a tramline that may be the film’s pièce de résistance. These scenes are all executed with panache, as well as rapid-fire editing and a roving camera that adds to their propulsive nature. They are all pretty astonishing.
The film’s pièce de résistance may be a major gunfight that takes place with Six restrained to a bench, followed by a thrilling, protracted pursuit sequence on a tramline. All of these moments are skillfully performed, and they all have quick editing and roving cameras that add to their dynamic quality. They are really quite amazing.
As thrilling or tiresome as “The Gray Man” is, the movie struggles to maintain reality because Six manages to survive every situation he runs into. Everything is a little two-dimensional. The self-assured and upright Six is the Wile E. Coyote to the arrogant and badass Lloyd. The entire movie has a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon feel to it. The many explosive weapons, such as rocket launchers and grenades, might as well be labeled “Acme.”
