In The Grey – Movie Review
An action-thriller by genre, In The Grey occasionally features the stylistic elements, sharp witted banter, and masculine energy that features in a lot of Guy Ritchie films. But, there are many times throughout the movie where it lacks some of the dynamic energy that a filmmaker like Ritchie brings to his work. In fact, In The Grey feels mostly like a Guy Ritchie rip-off, which is ironic considering the film was actually directed by… Guy Ritchie. Maybe making 9 films in 9 years has zapped a bit of his movie energy?
It sounds a little too cynical to be overtly harsh against this film, because when it does inject the quick doses of energy, it is a lot of easy watching fun. But, it is noticeably average when that energy lies dormant.
Ritchie reteams with Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza Gonzalez for a story that carries a lot of convoluted plot points inside of a film that thrives when it’s at its most simple – cool action guys doing cool action shit.
Cavill and Gyllenhaal play Sid and Bronco respectively, the leaders of an elite team of secret agents who specialise in extraction techniques. The boys work for Rachel Wild (Gonzalez), who has brokered a deal with a firm run by (at least at face level) Rosamund Pike’s Bobby which will see hundreds of millions of dollars stolen from a corrupt and wealthy investor, Salazar (Carlos Bardem) who is illegally changing plans to a giant building he is erecting in Jeddah. But, does any of this matter? Kind of, and not really.
Using a heavy laid, exposition filled voice over from Wild, the story is literally spelled out for the audience to set up for the real fun – watching Sid and Bronco cockily banter their way through a whole lot of extraction plans for Wild who is going to extort the money from Salazar, and needs safe passage out. The exposition is convoluted and heavy, but it does set a foundation for some pretty cool, heist-like plans to be laid out and executed throughout the film.
Watching Cavill and Gyllenhaal’s chemistry is where the film shines the most. They’re ultimately playing exacerbated versions of themselves in other films (with a strong tinge of bro-like homoeroticism to their relationship) – Cavill leaning back into his The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare characters, and Gyllenhaal playing his character from Ambulance if he had taken a Xanax beforehand. These characters aren’t stretches of the acting muscles for the two actors, but there is a comfort and familiarity that they bring to the film that works for its overall simplicity. The same can be said for Gonzalez, who anchors the film as the bad-ass negotiator who is willing to go to some extreme places to get a payday.
The film is broken up into three distinct parts. The exposition heavy set up does manage to fly by despite its convolution, leading to a second act that feels repetitive, but plays into the “group planning a heist” tropes well enough to be enjoyable. Each plan and their contingencies seem to get crazier and crazier, leading to the possibilities of where the third act could go as something to look forward to. It’s formulaic as hell, and definitely a little drawn out, but it’s not offensively bad, just wildly average.
It’s during the third act where the gunfire and explosions that the story desperately need arrives, and while it won’t go down in the annals of great action set pieces that Guy Ritchie has created, it’s energetic enough with enough style and flair to be a strong closer for the story, utilising a lot of the extraction plan set up for some fun pay offs.
In The Grey is the definition of “fine”. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but it’s executed well enough that it can be an easy, breezy time at the movies. The biggest letdown is having the names like Ritchie, Cavill, Gyllenhaal, and Gonzalez behind it, knowing that with a bit more time and perhaps money, there would be a much bigger and cooler film that could have come about.
In The Grey is in Australian cinemas May 14
