'In the Grey' Review: A Familiar Ensemble Saves Guy Ritchie's Action Retread

Guy Ritchie's In the Grey is all style and little substance in a by-the-numbers actioner that literally explains everything that's about to happen. There's no mystery as his familiar troupe of talented A-listers look gorgeous while narrating a plot with constant voice-overs. Ritchie's usual quick edits, flashy title cards, and split screens are in overdrive until a bullet-riddled final act soaked in adrenaline. The film has its comic moments and genuine ensemble chemistry, but feels like the same package in a new wrapper.

Eiza González is front and center as Rachel Wild, a mastermind lawyer who hunts down billion-dollar debts for a shady asset management company. She's got the ruthless Manny Salazar (Carlos Bardem) in her sights after multiple failed attempts to recover a staggering fortune in loans. Salazar's sweating sleazebag counsel (Fisher Stevens) doesn't take kindly to her threats to make a deal. Salazar is untouchable on his private Spanish island surrounded by an army of heavily armed goons. What can she possibly do to him? Little does Salazar know that Rachel's accountants, computer hackers, and legal team aren't the tip of the spear. She has a pair of badass enforcers, Sid ( Henry Cavill) and Bronco ( Jake Gyllenhaal), who specialize in taking down baddies by any means necessary.

In the Grey has Rachel and her team dictating their every move with onscreen graphics and snippets of future action scenes when the plan is set in motion. We hear their thoughts, and they spell out in exhausting detail every possible permutation if things go wrong. There's no natural exposition whatsoever in an approach that honestly feels rather lazy. Ritchie, a tremendous writer (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes) is too focused on cinematic bells and whistles to have the story evolve organically.

It's worth taking a deeper dive into this specific flaw because Ritchie masks this lack of development with obvious gimmicks. For example, Rachel makes extravagant cocktails while spilling the plot beans. The ingredients pop up onscreen like a hipster menu. Yes, it looks kind of cool, and González is absolutely stunning in her delivery, but it's a cheap way of getting complex ideas to the audience without character interactions. The protagonists are laughably smarter and ten steps ahead of a villain who should have seen them coming from a mile away. The idea that an elite team of operatives can stage their response in broad daylight on a tiny island loaded with enemies everywhere is simply a bridge too far.

In the Grey also suffers from the Star Trek Redshirt problem. The leads are essentially invincible while mowing down Salazar's men, but the supporting players, you guessed it, aren't nearly as lucky. It's a safe bet choosing who survives to see the end credits. Cavill and Gyllenhaal are ruggedly handsome throughout and don't break a sweat while killing dozens. There's never a sense of any real danger, even when impossibly outnumbered. Ritchie treats his stars with kid gloves when they should have taken at least some punishment after multiple firefights. We also never see anyone reload when firing weapons with seemingly infinite rounds.

Now that the critical barbs are out of the way, let's give credit where its due. In the Grey is never dull. Ritchie's kinetic camera work and action choreography haven't lost a step. The film has tremendous chase scenes through multiple settings. Ritchie's overhead shots and swooping drone footage capture the bigger picture while his slick edits nail the action tension. He goes long on motorcycles, trucks, and boats with massive explosions and ferocious gunplay. There's not much physical fighting here, but it's believable that Rachel's gunslingers are expert marksmen who make every bullet count. Gyllenhaal is especially formidable, with more headshots than a Broadway photographer.

The raunchy banter between Cavill and Gyllenhaal gets a few chuckles. They've become Ritchie regulars much like Jason Statham and have a casual ease to their dialogue, but then crank up the machismo as they're doling out brutal punishment. Both are superb action stars and take over the film at just the right time. The climax has them unleashed with each actor sharing the screen without trying to outdo each other. It's a rarity to have two alphas so evenly split and successful as co-stars. Ritchie achieves this by giving another of his favorites her moment to shine.

González got some blowback several years ago by saying she was "too pretty" to get good roles. That debate can be had, but she performs well when given the chance to be more than a supporting character. González steals the show with a commanding performance that's fierce and feminine. Rachel is the undisputed boss with loyal soldiers who respect her dogged abilities. She's the puppetmaster pulling every string and supremely confident. Ritchie has her facing down all comers with grit and fortitude. If only he tuned down the voice-over barrage and gave her character a more convincing way to propel the narrative.