Netflix has big plans for 'The Gray Man.' Fans might disagree.

Netflix’s next big new July move is “The Gray Man,” a CIA thriller film starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. Sadly, it's not good.

Netflix’s next big blockbuster movie is “The Gray Man,” a CIA thriller based on the 2009 novel by Mark Greaney (and the first in the long-running “Gray Man” series of novels). It is painfully obvious the movie is supposed to kick-start the launch of a brand-new, male audience-driven franchise. Think “James Bond,” “Mission: Impossible” and “Fast & Furious.” Unfortunately, this movie’s by-the-numbers plot and dull action sequences make for exciting background noise but not a gripping big-screen bonanza.

There’s a downside to being the leader in a new form of entertainment production and delivery: Eventually the competition shows up.

Netflix is not having the easiest of years. There’s a downside to being the leader in a new form of entertainment production and delivery: Eventually the competition shows up. This was made worse by the pandemic, which appears to have created a subscriber bubble. (Shareholders seem not to understand Newtonian physics; that what goes up eventually comes down.) But Netflix is hobbled by a second, larger issue, exemplified by “The Gray Man,” one of the most expensive blockbuster projects it has funded to date. Neither has a defined personality.

To be clear, “The Gray Man” has all the hallmarks of a hit summer blockbuster. There are A-list stars with long track records: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Rege-Jean Page, Ana de Armas and Jessica Henwick. The Russo Brothers, its directors, have hits like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Endgame” — two of the highest-grossing movies in history — under their belts. The books the movie is adapted from are best sellers. There are massive explosions, thrilling stunts and impressive computer-generated imagery indistinguishable from reality.

And yet, “The Gray Man” ultimately feels aptly named, because it is a blockbuster that disappears. It is bland, inoffensive and unremarkable. Leading man Gosling has never had much of a defined personality, but here he fades into the background of his own movie. Chris Evans is surprisingly just as unremarkable, a feat of self-erasure for an actor practically defined by his persona. De Armas at least has more to do than she did in her James Bond outing, but the crossover only serves to confuse, as she seems to have wandered in from hanging out with Daniel Craig and isn’t sure how she got here.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/netflix-big-plans-gray-man-fans-might-disagree-rcna39667


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Updated: 1 year ago
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