If it weren’t for the pretty faces on screen, Guy Ritchie’s In The Grey and its intricate plot might put viewers to sleep. Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Cavill, and Eiza González make a great team on screen, but most of the interesting action doesn’t arrive until the second half.
Rachel (González), a corporate lawyer, is the brains behind a team of elite covert operatives sent to collect a billion dollars owed by a ruthless crime lord (Carlos Bardem).
In The Grey is structured like a heist movie, even though the target knows they are coming. The first half sets up the caper through multiple escape scenarios devised by the team, while Rachel financially pokes the bear to rattle and corner him. Each move raises the stakes and increases the danger. However, the excessive explanations bog down the film with too many details to follow.
The plan doesn’t fully go into motion until the second half, and that’s when the stakes finally feel real. Ritchie’s flair for high-stakes action and humor kicks in, and the tension finally starts to build.
Cavill, González, and Gyllenhaal light up the screen with their charisma, good looks, and funny banter.
It’s rare for a film’s latter half to be stronger than its opening, but that’s the case here. The unique and clever setup simply drags on for too long, which ultimately becomes the film’s biggest problem.
Luckily, at a brisk 98-minute runtime, In The Grey doesn’t take up too much of our time.
