Let's talk about The Gray Man, a 2 hour and 9 minute film with action-packed adventures at every moment. I should say right away that the film is a Netflix project and is one of Netflix's biggest budget films. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, the names we remember from the films, directed the film.
The film's plot involves a trap set by his superiors for Court Gentry (played by Ryan Gosling), a former criminal and later CIA agent. It is Lloyd Hansen (played by Chris Evans) who tries to catch him, and the whole struggle in the film almost turns into a battle between these two characters.
Asking for help from someone in prison to kill bad guys and then training him, the freedom promised in exchange for using him as much as you want is a situation that is not alien to the cinema audience. This is exactly how the film The Gray Man starts and Court Gentry, who is released from prison due to the agreements made, becomes the favourite of the CIA with his performance and is known by the code name 6.
+6 is a strange name
-Yeah, the name 007 was taken by someone else
This dialogue, which is quoted from the film, was one of the funniest moments in the film and the moment when the codename of the Court Gentry character was revealed. For action lovers, the film is a very successful production in reflecting the excitement that will make you come to the edge of your seat and constantly change places while watching the film. I must say that it was even good for me after the stagnant films I have been watching for a while.
Although he was in the villain character, I liked the performance of Chris Evans, who took on the role of Lloyd Hansen, more. Even in the most difficult moments, the way he found an escape point and the facial expressions and body movements he exhibited sometimes resembled a dancer, while sometimes resembling a fighter in the ring. His character reminds me of the idea that "everything is permissible on the way to the goal". He is ready to set the whole world on fire in order to catch the leading character Court Gentry, and at some points he already does so. He jokingly calls the name of his operation "I will get what I want".
Is there exaggeration in the film? There are plenty of them. But in action films, one of the indispensable details of the film is the realisation of a collection of things that are impossible to do in real life, especially in action films. I think that exaggeration, which is acceptable to keep the action at the top, adds colour to The Gray Man.
During the viewing of such films, we always put ourselves in the shoes of some actors and most of the time it is the main actor. Or in other words, one of the good guys, but for me this detail was not valid in this film. As I said before, I was very much immersed in the role of Lloyd Hansen, his physique and use of body language was great! I think Chris Evans deserves the most praise for his performance in The Gray Man.
+If you're gonna take your gun, make sure it's loaded!
Underneath this quote in the film, there is a rush that includes almost all of the escape and chase scenes and a subtle humour and reproach. Court Gentry, who threw an empty gun to the female agent who helped him, was breaking the biggest pot in the film. It was one of the scenes where tension and comedy were experienced at the same time and added fun to the film.
Sometimes a film with a simple and limited budget can yield great results. Sometimes a film with a big budget and possibilities can be disappointing. According to Netflix information, the budget spent on The Gray Man film is 200 million dollars. Even if I make the evaluation of the film only about the budget instead of making the evaluation of the film on the script, director, actors and the reflections of the film, I can say that the film deserves and meets its allocated budget. The film is really great and the performances of the actors are at a high level, even when you look at the previous films of the directors, it is inevitable to have positive expectations about the film before watching it. If you want a recommendation about watching it, you should definitely watch it and you can keep your expectations at the desired level because I believe that the film will meet your expectations.
Another effect that The Gray Man had on me was that it made me closely follow the actor Chris Evans and compare his performance in some of his previous films with his performance in this film. I will need some time and watch more Chris Evans films for comparison. As far as I remember, there is the character of Captain America and the fact that he is in the role of the hero there, his costume and the powers he has may have overpowered his role because there is a big difference between his character in that film and his character and acting in The Gray Man. Maybe I should go back a bit further!