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.
In the Grey
The Bottom Line
Nothing to see here, other than star power.
