n Paragraphs: The Gray Man

2022, Anthony & Joe Russo (You, Me and Dupree) -- Netflix

I have been suffering a dearth of watched movies. Not for a lack of movies worth watching, nor for a lack of movies-started (at least 5 in some state of "resume"), but for the lack of focus & desire. Blame work, blame video games (Animal Crossing) but more so blame my brain. I am currently in another bout of "why am I writing this?" and still not sure if I have an answer. The other symptom of this state is that I barely remembering what I just watched. Blame work, blame COVID, blame focus, blame alcohol, but I have a great inability to retain what I just watched.

But let's give it a go, as I currently in Vacation Mode, had a few days of constant rest and even my anxiety is diminishing. And we polished off a few blockbusterish flicks.

The latest not-a-superhero-movie from the Russo Bros, is pretty much the crime-spy-thriller style that Captain America: Winter Soldier was framed around, right down to the over the top action and massive destructive set pieces, collateral damage out the wazoo. Its Bourne meets Bond meets Summer Blockbuster. And its good, for its genre; I might even go as far as a Very Good.

Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton, Armageddon) recruits Ryan Gosling (Young Hercules [*snicker*]) out of prison for his CIA funded off-the-books wet work group called Sierra; Gosling will be Sierra Six, or just Six. Years later her is tasked to take out someone, botches it because he doesn't want to kill a kid (number 4 in the disruptive assassin playbook) and ends up discovering that since Fitz retired, Carmichael (Regé-Jean Page, Dungeons & Dragons), the new guy in charge of Sierra, has been doing his own thing with it, i.e. killing people for money with Six as the weapon. Six goes on the run. Carmichael sends his other best off-the-books assassin, Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans,  Knives Out), after him. On the run, Six romps around Europe, trying to find Fitz's niece, who Hansen is using as leverage. Along the way, they blow up stuff good and shoot lots of people, mostly bad guys.

This is the movie that the Other Ryan (Reynolds) wants in his action adventure romps around Europe blowing stuff up and shooting bad guys, Six Underground or Red Notice, to be. It does a great job of welding on light humour with big, bombastic action scenes. And its all wrapped up in a very good Bad Guy vs Good Guy story where we hate (but laugh at/with Hansen) while smirking along with Six while rooting for him non-stop. But not the heavy handed humour which bleeds into farce. 

And the supporting cast! Fellow CIA agents Miranda (Ana de Armas, Knives Out) and Suzanne Brewer (Jessica Henwick, The Matrix: Resurrections)  rock amazing outfits & action scenes (Miranda) or bad suits & worse haircuts (Brewer). I liked to think of this movie as Paloma's next gig, just with another name, after her success with Bond in No Time to Die. Henwick's Brewer is such the opposite, suit wearing and following the boss down illegal rabbit holes while absorbing his abuse. Billy Bob is surprisingly less than sleazy, while Page is bureaucratic evil at its height, the true BBEG despite Hansen's outrageous homicidal proclivities. 

They are supposed to be franchise-ing this movie, but while I will watch each, I am not sure every flick needs to be done so, unless they watch to do the old school cross-over and have Six bump into the new Bond?