‘In the Grey’ Review: Jake Gyllenhaal in Generic Guy Ritchie Flick

If nothing else, Guy Ritchie’s latest effort proves that a movie can be ridiculously convoluted and simple-minded at the same time. Depicting the efforts of a lawyer and team of mercenaries to procure $1 billion from a shady tycoon who’s defaulted on a bank loan, In the Grey throws endless legal and logistical machinations into what is essentially the sort of mindless action movie featuring the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger in the 1980s. Come to think of it, those two would have been perfect casting for the central male characters Sid and Bronco, whose names would probably have provided that film its title.

As if aware that things are about to get confusing for the audience, writer-director Ritchie throws plenty of narration at us early on, emanating from Rachel Wild (Eiza Gonzalez), the sort of ultra-confident lawyer who clearly dresses for success. The plot is set in motion when Rachel convinces investment banker Bobby Sheen (Rosamund Pike, leaning into her onscreen ice queen image) to hire her to retrieve the money from the defaulter, Manny Salazar (Carlos Barde), for a ten percent recovery fee, with $10 million up front.

Of course, it won’t be easy, since Manny isn’t hesitant about killing to achieve his ends. So, while Rachel deals with his lawyer (Fisher Stevens, defining his sleazy character mainly by sweating and mopping his brow), she also enlists ex-special forces agents Sid (Henry Cavill) and Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal), both of whom she once got out of prison, to handle the more, shall we say, physical aspects of the job.

The intrigue includes Rachel sabotaging Manny’s hotel real-estate project in Saudi Arabia and Sid conning Manny’s equally crooked accountant (Mohammed Al Turki) with, I kid you not, a rigged game of backgammon (hey, it worked for James Bond with gin rummy in Goldfinger). As the barely comprehensible plot unfolds, Ritchie tries to make it simpler for us with a constant use of onscreen graphics labeling everything in sight, including the ingredients of a Negroni. When there’s an establishing shot of the Empire State Building, the setting is helpfully labeled as “New York.”

But all of this is merely an excuse for a series of elaborate action sequences, with Sid and Bronco (it’s fun to say, don’t you think?), abetted by an anonymous team they’ve recruited, battling Salazar’s forces, who seem to number in the hundreds — including his chief henchman (Kristofer Hivju, Game of Thrones), who’s so menacing even his overgrown beard seems aggressive. Ritchie has no small amount of experience staging this sort of thing, and scenes showcase his directorial efficiency. They’re sometimes too efficient, however, with Sid and Bronco and their team executing every maneuver flawlessly, communicating throughout via earpieces that never go on the blink, without any of them suffering so much as a scratch. Meanwhile, the bad guys fall over like dominoes. At a certain point, it kind of lessens the stakes.

In the Grey — the meaning of the title is explained via narration, naturally, by Rachel, who informs us that she operates in the grey zone between legal and illegal, moral and immoral — is the sort of movie in which the cartoonish villain is never seen without beautiful women in skimpy bikinis lounging poolside in the background. In between ruthlessly mowing down the bad guys, Sid and Bronco exchange the sort of deadpan quips indicating that they’ve seen plenty of movies like this and know exactly how to behave.

It all goes down easily, especially since the 98-minute film (including credits) doesn’t smack of Ritchie’s usual bloat. On the other hand, the jagged continuity and glaring plot holes indicate that it may be as short as it is only because of extensive editing.

All three principals have previously worked with Ritchie and their comfort comes across onscreen. Gonzalez definitely seems to be having fun with her role, while Cavill and Gyllenhaal, both seemingly aware that this will not be a high point in their filmographies, underplay in such appealingly relaxed fashion they seem to be angling for the chance to star in Sid and Bronco 2.