Come on, ‘In the Grey,’ give us nothing
Every now and then, Guy Ritchie does this sort of film: high-octane action set pieces, around-the-world adventure, and the occasional comedy and charm from a charismatic all-star cast. Just take a look at “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” or even “The Gentlemen.”
It’s not to say Ritchie only does one kind of film—in fact, it’s a good thing. It’s simple, harmless, action-adventure cinematic fun. It has worked and will continue to work in the box office.
And it should have for his latest film, “In the Grey,” but it unfortunately falls flat on its face.
Diving into the grey
“In the Grey” follows a group of elite operatives led by Sid (Henry Cavill) and Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal), who work under Rachel Wild (González), a lawyer who specializes in reclaiming debt.
The mission? Force Manny Salazar, a tyrannical leader of a small island nation, to give back the billions of dollars he borrowed from Wall Street. The problem? Salazar never planned on paying his debt, and he isn’t too keen on negotiating either.
Wild operates in the so-called “grey.” Legally, her goal is to forcibly hold several of Salazar’s properties and assets through court, and on the side of the fence, have Sid and Bronco do whatever it takes to get her what she needs.
For example, Sid and Bronco discover that one of the buildings that Salazar is constructing is violating several ordinances. Wild then brings this information to court, forcing legal authorities to prevent further construction, costing Salazar millions of dollars each day in delays.
To what end? To show Salazar that simply paying back the debt would cost much less than what she could cost him. In short, a sort of legal-illegal pincer.
A fresh take on the perfect plan
As what I would describe as the film’s only positive, “In the Grey” does well to put a realistic twist on the cinematic perfect plan.
In any onscreen heist or military operation, we typically see it unfold in real time before the step-by-step process is unveiled later on—a sort of magician revealing his tricks. But on the other hand, a significant portion of “In the Grey” is dedicated to rehearsing their protocols, from timing how long it takes to evacuate from a certain area to listing several back-up extraction zones in case one of them fails.
The film flips the script, showing us that the perfect plan isn’t something that just comes to mind—it takes thought, time, and practice.
All that star power and for what?
That said, the compliments end there.
“In the Grey” is the definition of mid. While I just complimented the film for showing the rehearsal behind the perfect plan, the actual execution of the perfect plan came across as unsatisfactory and lacking.
In fact, with how much they dedicated to showing the practice and planning, it felt like all that build-up amounted to nothing.
Not to mention, for a film with both Cavill and Gyllenhaal playing off each other at the helm, I, for one, barely recall them in it. They’re written to sound like every smug action-adventure lead without the personality to remember them by. If anything, any B-list celebrity would have done the same role justice, and that’s not a knock on Cavill and Gyllenhaal.
At least from my personal experience with “In the Grey,” I’d say my descriptions are far more interesting than the actual film itself. It could work on a night of mindless watching on Netflix, but to spend the P600 I did to watch it… Well, that was quite a waste.
