10 Movies Critics & Audiences Couldn't Agree On
3. The Gray Man
The film industry is so ridiculously saturated that it can be tough to stand out from the crowd. A movie has to offer something unique so as not to be labelled 'just another' horror film, or 'just another' comic book movie. It is no different for the action genre.
On paper, you couldn't dream of putting together a better or more exciting leading line for such a flick as Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas. And with the Russo Brothers directing on a reported $200 million budget for Netflix, The Gray Man had huge potential.
However, what was produced could easily be described as 'just another' action movie, a rather forgettable piece that lacked anything particularly original or ground-breaking. Not too dissimilar to the typical Dwayne Johnson outings discussed earlier in this article.
That said, for audiences, 'just another' action film was enough. The 90% Popcornmeter score suggests that they didn't need the Russos to reinvent the wheel, but to get Gosling, Evans, and de Armas together to produce some fun Friday night entertainment. Arguably, you could feel that the $200 million Netflix shelled out could have gone further, but do casual audiences really care about that when a picture starts?