The Gray Man Reviews Round-Up: What Did The Critics Think?

Joe and Anthony Russo's latest directorial endeavor reunites the duo with Captain America star Chris Evans for a feature film adaptation of The Gray Man. Based on the Mark Greaney novel of the same name, The Gray Man follows Ryan Gosling's Court Gentry (also called Sierra Six) as he uncovers dark secrets about the CIA and is subsequently hunted down by his former colleague, Evans' Lloyd Hansen. Rounding out the supporting cast is Evans' Knives Out co-star Ana de Armas, Bridgerton standout Regé-Jean Page, Game of Thrones alum Jessica Henwick, legendary actor Billy Bob Thornton, and many more.

What began as a Brad Pitt-led picture at New Regency over a decade ago has materialized into a Gosling and Evans co-led Netflix film with the biggest budget the streaming giant has ever used. Unfortunately for that $200 million investment, early reviews for The Gray Man have been less than stellar.

A product of too many conflicting approaches with no unifying vision.

IGN's Sidhant Adlakha said the film suffers from a lack of identity.

The Gray Man is a product of too many conflicting approaches with no unifying vision — not unlike their previous effort, the Tom Holland-fronted Cherry — resulting in a spy movie mish-mash that takes far too long to be enjoyable.

The notes mostly fall flat.

Forbes' Scott Mendelson highlighted that The Gray Man has all the pieces to succeed but fails to put them together.

While the instruments are all in place, the music never comes together, and the notes mostly fall flat. Despite genuine production values and impressive stunt work, the film never escapes the core notion of merely playacting a theoretical motion picture.

It helps if it actually feels new. The Gray Man doesn't.

BBC's Nicholas Barber believed the movie suffered from a lack of originality.

The main issue is that if you're going to launch a new franchise, it helps if it actually feels new. The Gray Man doesn't. It's not just that the hero's code name, Sierra Six – or Six for short – is strangely familiar ("007 was taken," he admits), and it's not just that the brassy score always seems to be building up to the signature riffs from the James Bond theme and the Mission: Impossible theme.

Gosling and Evans' chemistry is undeniable.

Boston.com's Kevin Slane praised The Gray Man's leading duo.

Though they spend precious little time onscreen together, Gosling and Evans' chemistry is undeniable. In the moments when they get to face off, you'll wish that The Gray Man had ditched a half-dozen other characters to give these two more time to pulverize each other with their words and their fists.

The film is most fun when Gosling and Evans engage.

The Hollywood Reporter's John Defore doubled down on the Gosling and Evans praise.

Predictably, the film is most fun when Gosling and Evans engage directly or via intermediaries. It gets less appealing when we're in command centers, watching intelligence officers try to cover their asses.

Intermittently very fun.

Yahoo's Leah Greenblatt noted that there is plenty of enjoyment to be had, even if it comes inconsistently. 

A maximalist action thriller that is almost comically violent, unfailingly glib, and intermittently very fun.

You can actually feel the price of your Netflix subscription going up with each new scene.

IndieWire's David Ehrlich correlated the blockbuster budget to the rising Netflix subscription costs.

So begins a 'blockbuster' so big that you can actually feel the price of your Netflix subscription going up with each new scene, this listless simulacrum of a summer action movie bouncing from one lavish Asian or European location to the next as it searches in vain for the streamer's first bonafide popcorn franchise.

The Gray Man is open in select theaters on Friday, July 15 and will begin streaming on July 22, exclusively on Netflix.