An inmate recruited by the CIA to kill on demand is hunted down by the agency and its bloodthirsty henchmen when he begins to doubt his role within the organization.
Posted yesterday at 9:30 a.m.
Court Gentry (aka Sierra Six), played by Ryan Gosling, an inmate hired by the CIA, finds himself hunted by agents, but above all pursued by a sociopathic assassin ready to do anything to kill him. Chris Evans plays Lloyd Hansen, said sociopath, the baddest of bad guys, in this action movie where just about everyone is playing a double game – and those who are honest about their intentions are often murderers.
If there was only one good reason to defend this film, we would opt for the following argument: Chris Evans. While we have often seen him play the good guys – he is still Captain America! –, the actor here becomes the antithesis of the super-nice superhero. Lloyd is crazy. He is cruel, sadistic on the edges and downright unsympathetic. Evans, whom we love to adore, easily persuades us to hate him.
In the title role, Ryan Gosling is true to himself – or rather his usual characters. Discreet and mysterious, Sierra Six drags a psychological wound that pushed him to become the killer that he is. He only kills those who “deserve” it. He is the antihero par excellence.
Around these two characters, a manhunt (targeting Sierra Six). All means are deployed to suppress the target who, with the help of agent Dani Miranda (fantastic Ana de Armas) and a few other allies, tries to put the truth before his employer (a high placed CIA, played by Regé-Jean Page, who we discovered with the series Bridgerton). We are dealing with people in suits who give orders to kill, others who obey without asking questions and all the consequences that entails. Billy Bob Thorton, Alfre Woodard and the very young Julia Butters (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) join the cast.
The brothers Anthony and Joseph Russo (whose work within the Marvel franchise is best known) produce a film here that lives up to the expectations they have established. The feature film lasts two hours, but there are enough explosions, chases, shootings, suspense and humor (Lloyd Hansen’s lines and reactions are sometimes amusing as he lacks empathy) to keep us interested to the end. No romance (aside from a light flirtation) and that’s fine. This is an action movie and the action comes first until the final, thrilling fight scene.
In theaters and on Netflix from July 22
Stock
The Gray Man
Athony and Joseph Russo
With Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas
2:07 a.m.