Movie Review: The Gray Man is actually a great action movie

I've always been a big fan of the Russo brothers and their previous action movies so I was exited for The Gray Man to release and was expecting to be amazed by this film. After seeing this movie, I don't think the action disappoints at all. The Gray Man was a great film, full of amazing action and hand-to hand-combat scenes that I absolutely loved. Though, the actual story is where this movie fell a bit short for me.

After discovering incriminating agency secrets, one of the CIA's top assets, Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling) goes rogue. This causes a worldwide hunt lead by a sociopathic operative named Lloyd, a former CIA mercenary (Chris Evans) who's put a hefty bounty on his head.

The action in this film is beyond impressive. I expected nothing less from the insanely talented directors Joe and Anthony Russo who are known for directing some of the most creative action sequences in the MCU including Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame, and the iconic Steve vs Bucky highway fight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The hand-to-hand combat scenes were choreographed to near perfection and kept me both very engaged and entertained throughout the full length of the film.

Chris Evans' portrayal of the snarky, sadistic villain Lloyd Hansen left me completely blown away. He stood out in every scene he was in and immediately caught and kept my attention. He performed so well with every actor he played opposite to. I'm so used to watching him play the "ultimate good guy", Captain America so, it was refreshing to see him do such a good job in a different role.. Being able to play both a compelling hero and villain can be a very difficult task that he makes look quite easy. The Gray Man proves how talented and versatile of an actor Chris Evans truly is. He easily took his character Lloyd and turned it into one of the strongest aspects of this film.

Ryan Gosling did a great job as the leading man, Sierra six. Watching him when he was acting opposite to Chris Evans and Ana de Armas was very entertaining. I enjoyed his performance and the emotion he portrayed on screen. Where Gosling really shined for me was during all the combat scenes. He never failed to elevate every action scene he was in.

Ana de Armas did an exceptional job in the supporting roll of Dani, a CIA colleague who put her job on the line and a target on her back to help Six as he tries to escape the assassins on his tail. She and Gosling worked really well alongside one another.

I really enjoyed the rivalry between Sierra Six and Lloyd. Their playful banter was entertaining and I found the one-liners really funny at times. Gosling and Evans have great on-screen chemistry. They play well off each other and did a good job at not making the scenes feel forced.

The story in The Gray Man is where this film falls a bit short for me. The movie isn't bad by any mean, I actually find it quite entertaining most of the time. My only problem is the lack of innovation. This film doesn't do anything we haven't already seen in previous spy, action thrillers. The acting and amazing action makes up for this problem though.

Overall, the Gray Man is the perfect film if you want to sit down, shut off your brain and enjoy a fun, action-packed movie. The strong acting, great chemistry between actors, and phenomenal combat scenes is something any casual viewers and fan of action movies will appreciate.