Let me catch my breath real quick because boy, that adrenalin rush just keeps going for a whole 2 hours with this Netflix film. The Gray Man, is literally non-stop action, with a side of fast paced story telling and a heap of elegant fighting scenes. But did it actually work?

The Gray Man introduces us to Six (Ryan Gosling) who is picked up by the CIA after spending some time in jail. He is asked to head out to a few mission. On a particular mission with Dani (Ana de Armas), it’s slowly but surely realised that there is a hidden agenda behind these missions orchestrated by Carmichael (Ragé-Jean Page), and when Six figures this out, Lloyd Henson (Chris Evans) is employed to take him out. Only by association is Dani on that hit list, too. Lloyd hits Six and his father figure, Fitz (Billy Bob Thornton) where it hurts, when he chooses to kidnap Fitzs niece, Claire (Julia Butter), someone Six had spent a bit of time with protecting in a previous point in time.

The truth is that sometimes the story got lost in all the action. I found myself searching for the point of all this mayhem, over and over again. There was definitely a story there, but it was so consumed with unnecessary character inclusions, that the story would go back on track, only to derail again.

There were funny moments, especially by Evans who was finally able to play a proper bad guy. Definitely not like his more manipulative character in Knives Out. I also noticed the subtle hints the Russo Brothers included, such as referring to Goslings character as a Ken Doll (Gosling is set to play Ken in the upcoming Barbie film), and even a moment with the Narcos star Wagner Moura, who refers to his Narcos character and real life drug lord, Pablo Escobar. But no Captain America references. Unless you want to include the part where Lloyd is shot in the ass. Americas Ass.

The fighting scenes were beautiful to watch. The cinematography during those moments, even during the chase scenes were something made of art. The addition of drones created a far better wide scale view of the action.

I’d like to point out the forced inclusions of characters like Dani and Claire. I guess, Claire had some importance as she was the bait waved around to get Six out of hiding, so that he can find her and ultimately have to go head to head with Lloyd. But her relationship with Six was briefly touched on, and for me that wasn’t enough to really cement her position. And Dani was supposed to be the trusty sidekick, but the CIAs assumption of her work with Six was abrupt. There was nothing profound to allure her involvement in the initial mission that would then put a target on her back. Both these characters could have definitely been developed a lot better. You know what? Even Carmichael and his second in-charge Suzanne (Jessica Henwick) seemed unprogressive, and just a couple of characters inserted for, “just because”. The Russo Brothers are so good at character development, but this one fell slightly short.

I love a good action film, and this one didn’t lack an inch of it. I giggled at appropriate times, but then I felt let down by story development. The Gray Man is definitely one to watch in the cinema for it’s visual aspect, but as an overall, Netflix will do.

Rating: 3/5