Written and directed by Guy Ritchie, *In The Grey* is a stylish—albeit somewhat derivative—action thriller starring regulars from Ritchie’s filmography: Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Cavill, and Eiza González.
In its opening stretch, the film suffers from an excess of planning and setup; however, *In The Grey* benefits from a much stronger second half and, fortunately, saves its best for last.
*In The Grey* kicks off *in media res*, with Sophia (González) seeking cover in a car caught in the middle of intense crossfire. Through voiceover, she explains that she is the kind of lawyer who operates in that "grey zone" situated between the moral and the immoral; and very soon—once the action returns to the present—we discover exactly what she means.
Sophia leads a team of undercover operatives—including, though not exclusively, Bronco (Gyllenhaal) and Sid (Cavill)—who are hired by major corporations (or, perhaps, by anyone with a sufficiently deep checkbook) to recover stolen funds in exchange for ten percent of the amount owed.
In this instance, the villain is Salazar (Carlos Bardem), a billionaire who—seeking to evade the obligations of a business loan—ordered the murder of the intermediary and refused to repay the one billion dollars he owed.
Thus, the aggrieved party—represented by Rosamund Pike—hires Sophia and her team to get Salazar, his thoroughly corrupt lawyer (a highly entertaining role for Fisher Stevens), and his own sizable private military force to agree to part with that one-billion-dollar sum.
In reality, it is as simple as that. But to achieve this objective, Sophia and company must travel to an island off the coast of Spain—an island that, in practice, belongs to Salazar; although he may not be listed as its legal owner, the truth is that, for all intents and purposes, the island is his. The problem with *In The Grey* lies in the fact that the section dedicated to "planning and preparation" is not only saturated with excessive narrative exposition but also drags on for an unnecessarily long time.
I don't mind that the film runs for a mere 98 minutes—in fact, more movies should aspire to be this concise and direct—yet *In The Grey* could easily have shed another five or ten minutes of footage.
It’s not all bad, however. Visually, the film (which was shot in Tenerife) lives up to expectations; its sun-drenched settings provide a sense of escapism that fits perfectly with the polished style Guy Ritchie (*Sherlock Holmes*, *The Gentlemen*) brings to the work.
Gyllenhaal (*The Covenant*) and Cavill (*The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare*) maintain an unperturbed demeanor—perhaps *too* unperturbed; they are the type of characters who seem utterly unfazed, no matter how complicated the plot or action becomes.
González (*The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare*) kicks off the film fully inhabiting the role of the female lead; however, once the plot gains momentum in the second half—and, especially, when the action finally explodes—Sophia is relegated to the background, for, at least in this film, the action remains, by and large, a boys' club.
Bronco, Sid, and the rest of the team certainly know how to dish it out and keep their enemies in check; it is, however, rather comical that Ritchie adheres to that old-school trope where "the good guys hit with (almost) every shot, while the bad guys are terrible marksmen."
Even so, I enjoyed that second half—perhaps a little more than I should have; but, to be fair, *In The Grey* ends much better than it begins. The superficial pleasures are certainly there, and as light entertainment, the film fulfills its purpose quite successfully. That doesn't mean you'll remember *In The Grey* once the credits roll; but, having seen so many movies that start better than they finish, I at least left the theater with a sense of optimism and good spirits.
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