The Gray Man (Gosling, Evans, Russos)

[MadVillainy]

Yeah I don't know how they do that every time. I was honestly expecting more from their most expensive production ever, especially with Russos at the helm of another big scale action film, and yet it once again has that generic streaming feeling into it. The cast looks great, though, and I'm sure it's going to have some solid action scenes, so I may see it in cinemas if it comes out.

TO be fair, I feel like I can say that about most blockbusters nowadays. Except for a few DC movies. Every blockbusters looks MCU or MCU lite

 

[Kev4000]

Mediocore. Im quiet disappointed by the trailes. I was expecting something fresh.

 

[MadVillainy]

TBH Other than Dune and The Batman I can't remember the last blockbuster that looked or felt "fresh"

Blockbusters have been spinning their wheels for a minute now. A few outliers sure, but by and large they've been pretty standard

EDIT: To be clear, I'm not saying Dune and Batman are the only good recent blockbusters. Just the only ones that looked or felt "fresh"

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I enjoyed the trailer as well, but I can understand how some would be underwhelmed or unimpressed by it overall because aesthetically it really does look too much like the past 10 or so Netflix straight to streaming action flicks which just makes the whole thing come off as cheap despite all the talent that's involved.

That being said I think Evans and Gosling look great in this, and honestly, I'm just here to see those two interact and hopefully have plenty fight scenes throughout the movie.

Also, you throw in Ana De Armas looking sexy and kicking ass and I'm officially there Day 1 lol.

 

[Prison Mike]

I can’t think of an action movie that was original IP that looked unique. Even if they go to theaters, they all look the same. The Protege looked bland as hell and that wasn’t a streaming movie.

EDIT: and The Gray Man isn’t even original, it’s based on a series of books

 

[KaijuDude1992]

The Batman definitely had a unique style and atmosphere that made it really stand out from your average MCU or DCEU superhero/comic-book movies which is why I loved it so much.

I would even put the John Wick films in there as well because despite not being all that original at least you can tell there's some real effort being put into those films from the people behind them.

I wish we could a lot more of that from other various big, Hollywood studios but sadly I just don't think they care all that much because they know audiences will eat it up anyways.

 

[kguillou]

you know its funny! I'm hearing you guys say "all netflix action movies look the same," and i actually agree! While watching the trailer I kept thinking, "this LOOKS like a Netflix movie," but I couldnt articulate why. Maybe its subliminal because the "Netflix" logo was planted in the right corner of the screen, but i definitely felt that this felt like a streaming movie than a big studio blockbuster. I honestly cant explain why though.

 

[MadVillainy]

To be fair, this has been the case forever almost. 70s blockbusters had a distinct feel. 80s, 90s, 2000s, etc.
Even if I didn't know when a movie came out, there are very clear indicators of the era that a blockbuster was made in. And i'm not talking about the tech in the movie or the picture quality.

I think the problem is tonally, aesthetic wise, style of writing are way more homogenized than the other eras. I feel like since 2016 people really wear their influences on their sleeves a lot more in the past. And that kinda makes it seem worse than maybe it is compared to previous decades. Like movies and even some shows don't hide how much they're ripping off Goonies, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers, etc. When it the past I felt like even if something was clearly influenced or inspired by something else, they still added their own flair.

IT also doesn't help that Disney is by and large the biggest blockbuster factory.
Playing a little bit loose with the term blockbuster depending on how you define it, but MCU, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney Live Action, Disney Animation all are very successful and are pretty much running things someway or another. I'm not a film historian but I feel like this is the first time that one singular studio had this much power of blockbuster filmmaking since blockbusters became common place.

But I'm sure there was someone in the 90s saying "All blockbusters feel the same" It's all cyclical

EDIT: I also wouldn't be surprised if it's just that we get soooo many blockbusters than we did before that some may feel this way

 

[Doctor Jones]

Looks ok, it has that clean 4K Netflix look but the Russo's aren't the best visualists, they're better at crafting good moments and executing them in a solid way. The CG clashes with the more realistic spy thriller elements.

 

[DarkKnight88]

TBH Other than Dune and The Batman I can't remember the last blockbuster that looked or felt "fresh"

Blockbusters have been spinning their wheels for a minute now. A few outliers sure, but by and large they've been pretty standard

EDIT: To be clear, I'm not saying Dune and Batman are the only good recent blockbusters. Just the only ones that looked or felt "fresh"

I can’t think of an action movie that was original IP that looked unique. Even if they go to theaters, they all look the same. The Protege looked bland as hell and that wasn’t a streaming movie.

EDIT: and The Gray Man isn’t even original, it’s based on a series of books

Bullet Trainlooks interesting and different. Wonder how it’ll do in August in theatres.

 

[MadVillainy]

Bullet Trainlooks interesting and different. Wonder how it’ll do in August in theatres.

I haven't seen the trailer because I try not to watch Trailers for movies I'll know I'm already gonna see.

Is it a blockbuster or just an action movie.

Because to me blockbuster is more about scale than amount of action. Like I wouldn't consider John Wick 1 a blockbuster. JW2? Maybe. JW3 was for sure a blockbuster because it just so much large scale action. I remember having this discussion a few years ago. Deadpool 1 I wouldn't consider a blockbuster either. But again, I define blockbuster by scale rather than is it an action movie or not or how much money it made

 

[Batgirl0202]

I liked the trailer but it definitely doesn't look like a $200 million film. They probably paid so much $$$ to the Russo Brothers, there wasn't much leftover for FX and cinematography

This film is gonna need a lot of streaming eyeballs in order to justify the money Netflix dumped into it...

 

[Prison Mike]

The budget definitely went to cast and crew

 

[Filmfreak]

TO be fair, I feel like I can say that about most blockbusters nowadays. Except for a few DC movies. Every blockbusters looks MCU or MCU lite

Sure, but it's not just that. It's a 200 million dollar movie and for some reason it has these streaming traits all over it. I don't know if I'm partially affected by yesterday's Mission Impossible trailer but that was what I'd call quality action. Huge scale, impressive stunts, beautifully looking film. It had a grandiose sense that screams cinematic release. And also last year's No Time to Die set a new high for breathtaking IMAX sequences and huge scope.

Maybe it does have to do with marketing but this looks relatively cheap and generic for its budget. I'll still see it, but I haven't been impressed by a Netflix action film so far.

 

[Web-Head]

Gosling and even Evans are my saving grace for this. Gosling is usually pretty particular about what roles he chooses so that gives me some hope and even Evans has been on a bit of a hot streak so

 

[MadVillainy]

Sure, but it's not just that. It's a 200 million dollar movie and for some reason it has these streaming traits all over it. I don't know if I'm partially affected by yesterday's Mission Impossible trailer but that was what I'd call quality action. Huge scale, impressive stunts, beautifully looking film. It had a grandiose sense that screams cinematic release. And also last year's No Time to Die set a new high for breathtaking IMAX sequences and huge scope.

Maybe it does have to do with marketing but this looks relatively cheap and generic for its budget. I'll still see it, but I haven't been impressed by a Netflix action film so far.

Oh I agree this doesn't look like anything special aestically. Im just saying that that's not that surprising to me at least. There's a few that stand out to me look and feel. But not much

 

[Stringer]

Curious to see how Havoc compares to this whenever we finally get a look at that flick.

 

[kguillou]

Sure, but it's not just that. It's a 200 million dollar movie and for some reason it has these streaming traits all over it. I don't know if I'm partially affected by yesterday's Mission Impossible trailer but that was what I'd call quality action. Huge scale, impressive stunts, beautifully looking film. It had a grandiose sense that screams cinematic release. And also last year's No Time to Die set a new high for breathtaking IMAX sequences and huge scope.

Maybe it does have to do with marketing but this looks relatively cheap and generic for its budget. I'll still see it, but I haven't been impressed by a Netflix action film so far.

You just hit something that may be what i and alot are feeling. The trailers for these netflix films feel like they're all cut and edited by the same person (Heck, maybe they are).

 

[Man in the Suit]

The trailer should've mentioned the Russo's non-MCU movies like "You, Me, and Dupree" and "Cherry"

 

[Deck Rickard]

I liked the trailer but it definitely doesn't look like a $200 million film. They probably paid so much $$$ to the Russo Brothers, there wasn't much leftover for FX and cinematography

This film is gonna need a lot of streaming eyeballs in order to justify the money Netflix dumped into it...

Whoa this movie cost $200m?!!! Yeah… I think it looks good but not THAT good. Wow.

 

[flickchick85]

I think it looks fun! You know, in a B-movie action film kind of way.This is probably going to be like Extraction: fantastic action sequences, mediocre story. But i like mindless action movies from time to time AS LONG as the action itself is impressive, like Extraction.

I was expecting them to be aiming a little higher than Extraction with that cast and all the hype tbh, but…oh well. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it and forget all about it the next week like the majority of Netflix’s original content lol. Gotta say though, releasing this the day after MI7’s trailer did them no favors at all. Instead of looking like the big blockbuster event they’ve been hyping, MI7 truly makes it look exactly like we’d expect a direct-to-streaming production to look in comparison to an actual blockbuster. Not sure where that budget went, but it’s not on the screen.

 

[MadVillainy]

I'm sure a lot of that 200m went to the actors and Russo Bros salary.

But this and Red Notice are 200m movies and don't look it at all. Reminds me of Green Lantern how that had a 200m budget and looked worse than stuff made in the early 2000s.

The CGI just doesn't look good even if the film itself looks fine.

The trailer should've mentioned the Russo's non-MCU movies like "You, Me, and Dupree" and "Cherry"

I'm one of the 4 people who like You Me and Dupree

 

[Deck Rickard]

I'm sure a lot of that 200m went to the actors and Russo Bros salary.

But this and Red Notice are 200m movies and don't look it at all. Reminds me of Green Lantern how that had a 200m budget and looked worse than stuff made in the early 2000s.

The CGI just doesn't look good even if the film itself looks fine.

I'm one of the 4 people who like You Me and Dupree

Well, to be fair, this looks a lot better than GL or Red Notice. I’ve seen TV weather reports with better green screen than those movies lol.

 

[MadVillainy]

Well, to be fair, this looks a lot better than GL or Red Notice. I’ve seen TV weather reports with better green screen than those movies lol.

Yeah I'm not saying it's as bad as those movies. I'm just using them as other examples of 200m movies that looked worse that way cheaper ones

 

[Persona]

Visually it looks like Russo Bros MCU flicks.