There are some action films you watch because of the cast and you already know exactly what you’re signing up for Put Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Cavill and Eiza Gonzalez in the same film, throw Guy Ritchie into the director’s chair, add guns, expensive cars and people speaking as if they have never encountered an ordinary problem in their lives, and you already have an idea of the kind of madness waiting for you.
And honestly, this film does not disappoint when it comes to looking like a Guy Ritchie film. His films are usually stylish, loud when it needs to be, filled with ridiculously capable people and packed with the kind of elaborate plans that make you wonder how these characters have time to sleep.
Synopsis
At the centre of the story is Rachel Wild(Eiza Gonzalez), a highly capable lawyer working in the murky world of asset recovery. Her job is essentially to recover money from people who would very much prefer to keep it. Her latest problem is Manny Salazar (Carlos Bardem), a powerful and dangerous figure who owes a staggering one billion dollars.
Salazar has no intention of paying, and the situation becomes even more serious when the previous lawyer sent to recover the money ends up dead. Rachel therefore turns to people who operate outside the ordinary boundaries of the law.
Enter Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Sid (Henry Cavill), two highly trained operatives who are brought in to help her deal with the increasingly dangerous situation. What starts as an elaborate attempt to recover stolen money quickly becomes a much bigger fight involving deception, violence, competing interests and survival.
And when dealing with people who have billions of dollars and very few moral restrictions, collecting a debt is clearly not going to involve sending a polite reminder email.
My Thoughts and Rating
I think the first thing I have to say about this film is that it is very aware of what kind of movie it wants to be.
It doesn’t want to be a deeply emotional character study, it basically wants to be cool and boy, does it try to be cool.
The characters are dressed beautifully, the locations are gorgeous, the vehicles look expensive, the weapons are handled with frightening competence, and everybody seems to know exactly what they are doing. Even when things are falling apart, there is this ridiculous calmness to the way these people operate.
And I actually enjoyed that.
There is just something entertaining about watching extremely competent people execute ridiculous plans with the confidence of people who have already rehearsed every possible disaster.
The action is obviously where the film expects to win us over and of course it does have some genuinely enjoyable action sequences. The action is choreographed in a way that makes the characters appear frighteningly efficient rather than simply invincible. But I did have moments where I felt the film was throwing action at me because it could. Still, when the film gets into its action mode, it is entertaining.
Having Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill together was probably one of the film’s biggest selling points for me.
Bronco and Sid have that familiar buddy dynamic where two highly skilled men can be surrounded by absolute chaos and still find time to exchange dry remarks. Their chemistry isn’t particularly revolutionary, but it works.
Gyllenhaal brings his usual intensity to Bronco, while Cavill fits effortlessly into the physically imposing action-hero role. Neither character is especially complicated, though, and that is one of the film’s weaknesses.
I kept thinking that with actors of this calibre, there should have been more underneath the surface.
Eiza Gonzalez deserves her flowers as her chary, Rachel, is actually the character I found most interesting. She isn’t simply the woman standing around waiting for the men to rescue her. She is the person who sets the whole operation in motion, and she knows exactly what she is getting herself into.
She gives Rachel a confidence that makes her believable as someone who can walk into a room filled with dangerous men and still make demands. I just wish the script had given her more room to breathe.
Because this film has a cast capable of delivering much more character depth than the screenplay demands from them.
The Biggest Problem
This is where I became a little less impressed.
The premise sounds great: a billion-dollar debt, a dangerous criminal, an unconventional team and a mission that could get everyone killed.
But once the film gets going, the story isn’t nearly as clever as it seems to think it is.
There are twists and betrayals, but I wasn’t always surprised by them. Some of the characters feel more like pieces being moved around a chessboard than fully developed human beings. And because the movie spends so much time explaining plans and showing us how competent everyone is, I sometimes felt like I was watching a demonstration rather than becoming emotionally invested in the people involved.
That is probably why, despite enjoying myself, I don’t think I’ll remember it nearly as fondly as some of Guy Ritchie’s better films.
But, there’s a clause because it looks damn good!
One thing I absolutely cannot criticize is the presentation. This movie is beautiful.
The locations are gorgeous, the cinematography gives everything that glossy international-action-film appearance, and the whole thing has an expensive look to it. The film was shot across locations including Spain, Saudi Arabia and the Canary Islands, and you can feel that scale in the finished product.
It is the sort of movie where even when the story isn’t blowing my mind, I’m still staring at the screen with thoughts of it looking really good in my head.
Is It Actually Good? I think that depends on what you want from it.
If you want complicated characters, emotional depth and a crime story that keeps you guessing, this one may leave you wanting more. But, if you want a slick action film with big stars, witty exchanges, beautiful locations, elaborate schemes and enough violence to keep things moving, then this movie does exactly what it promises.
Finally, I wouldn’t call this film one of Guy Ritchie’s best films, but I also wouldn’t call it a complete miss. It is stylish and entertaining and also has a ridiculously good cast. My only biggest disappointment is that the film has more talent than story. Still, I had fun with it.
And perhaps that is the fairest way to describe In the Grey.
Rating: 7/10
