“The Grey Man” arrives: “The film takes the spy genre and modernizes it”

Court Gentry is a CIA agent but is also an unknown. Under the name Sierra Six, he is a highly skilled death merchant of the agency; he was forced to do so, after escaping prison and being recruited by his controller, Donald Fitzroy. But soon everything will be different: his ex-partner Lloyd Hanson, will do everything possible to eliminate him. We’re talking about “The Grey Man,” Netflix’s new action bet that’s now available. It features a luxury cast, headed by Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Regé-Jean Page, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Wagner Moura and Alfre Woodard. 

“When you play characters that people consider villains, it’s about where you fall on the moral spectrum,” Regé-Jean Page analyzes, in a Zoom chat with Filo.news; recall that the British actor stood out for his work in “Bridgerton”, a period series where he plays Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings.” I think the joy of playing someone on the more villainous side of the spectrum in this film is that they have fewer limits on the actions they can take to achieve their goals, there’s something very free about that, you can make very interesting choices,” continues the actor, who in the new film acts as Denny Carmichael, Director of the National Clandestine Service.

Regé-Jean Page | Photo: Courtesy of the press

His partner Jessica Henwick, who in the past worked on shows like “Game of Thrones,” tells this outlet: “I did a lot of research and we had to connect with a CIA agent, who will remain unnamed. I really enjoyed the time I spent with him, picking up his ideas from one of these people who really likes this high-intensity work. How do you stay calm? That was fascinating and I couldn’t do it in my previous jobs.” In the film the actress puts herself in the shoes of Suzanne Brewer, Denny’s partner: “I think the Bourne films are brilliant in action. What I really like is how ‘The Grey Man’ took that genre of spies and modernized it, made it feel current.”
Based on the novel of the same name by Mark Greaney, it was adapted to the screen by directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who stood out for their work in the world of superheroes: they were in charge of great blockbuster titles such as “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, “Captain America: Civil War”, “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame”. “I know the brothers talk about how they were working on this while they were working on ‘Winter Soldier.’ I think you can see them going to places they couldn’t go there and how far they can go with the action genre,” says Regé-Jean Page.

Photo: Courtesy of the press

The filmmakers expanded on this theme in dialogue with Comic Book: “We read The Gray Man years ago while we were making that film and actually did the first adaptation between takes while directing it as a potential film to direct after we were done with it. Then they asked us to do Civil War and then Avengers, so we left this in the drawer for a few years.” The film follows the classic elements and archetypes of the action genre – perhaps even clichés – that entertain the viewer and make the plot, although with effects that leave to be desired and with little character work. But it is a good option to entertain you on the weekend.

Photo: Courtesy of the press

“It’s fun. It’s exciting, but always fun,” says the actor, to which the actress ends with a laugh: “It’s a journey. He has great performances. And Chris (Evans) has a mustache, there’s nothing more to say.” 

Original source in Spanish