Cool, but not what you expect from the Russo brothers "The Gray Man" was quite an anticipated film. Many bloggers talked about it long before it was released. And there were several reasons for this. The first and, in my opinion, the main reason is the participation of the Russo brothers in the position of directors, who gave us such masterpieces as "Captain America 2" and "Captain America 3", as well as such mastodons of cinema as "Infinity War" and "Finale" about the Avengers. The next important aspect of expectation is the cast. The stars of the first magnitude who were involved in the project are always in demand in high-level action films and their participation in the work on the picture also aroused confidence in the "Gray Man". However, even at the stage of the trailer release, I had doubts about creating some kind of iconic picture. It looked like Joe and Anthony Russo were preparing a large-scale action movie and nothing more. Well. I was ready for this, and the viewing did not disappoint. The picture is designed in the best traditions of modern blockbusters with a lot of beautiful action scenes. I would like to emphasize that the picture uses non-standard and very successful camera angles and framing, both in chases and in fights. It looks fresh and, combined with excellent sound, presents gorgeous scenes that are drawn one after another for the audience. The fights are set up perfectly. I would compare the realism of the battle scenes with the best representatives of the industry from the "Raid" series. It is very interesting to watch numerous martial arts and shootouts, and a high-quality picture takes the viewer into the thick of events, allowing you to almost feel the danger of what is happening on the screen. The plot of the picture is intriguing, the characters behave in the frame as they should in such films: self-confident, bursting with masculinity heroes (even Ana de Armas tries to keep up with the men on the screen), clear quick decisions that do not leave numerous extras a chance of survival, stone-faced characters that almost They do this kind of thing every day or even an hour. This, on the one hand, strongly creates color, and, on the other hand, sharply reduces the credibility of what is happening on the screen. But again, I personally do not forget that I am just watching an action movie, and the concept of this picture boils down to the fact that all the main characters are mostly cardboard, and their task in the frame is to surpass opponents. It is worth noting the actors' performance. It follows from my previous thought. The characters that are embodied on the screen by actors of the first magnitude do not require strong drama through emotions. Here, all the most interesting things are shifted towards entertainment on the screen, and not to various kinds of experiences. Therefore, Ryan Gosling only changes his face if he is seriously injured. Ana de Armas is not bad. The girl is physically good, her participation in combat scenes pleases no less than the fights and shootouts in one of her previous works — about James Bond. For some reason, Armas even reminded me of Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2. The desire to do many tricks on their own causes true admiration for actresses. Billy Bob Thornton performed, as always, stridently. His character, although a minor character, sets quite a strong tone to the narrative. Separately, I would like to mention the game of Chris Evans. The actor turned into a villain quite well. I'm used to the image of Steve Rogers: a noble and honest soldier who will lay down his bones for the sake of his loved ones. Then the actor did a good job of showing the ambiguous father of the family in "Protecting Jacob." Well, in "The Gray Man" this is an abhorrent hero who was created in the best traditions of villains with such an appearance and, of course, wild charisma. Lloyd Henson, played by Evans, exudes danger and savagery. This is a man who will stop at nothing, because he simply does not know how to lose. I remember Evans the most in this movie. But to be fair, I would like to note that although the actor was remembered for his performance, I often had the feeling that this was still just a game, an attempt to be what a villain should be. That is, it was not an immersion in his hero, but only an effort to immerse himself. Sometimes I couldn't believe in this Lloyd, the illusion of the work was broken. It's probably an actor's mistake after all. Or maybe a weak scenario. The film allows you to see many beautiful places all over the planet. Such diversity was even sometimes excessive. I only had to manage to read the names of a particular city in order not to get confused in the rapid movements of the characters. Again, the competent work of the camera team and clear directing make it possible to see cool pictures on the screen. "The Gray Man" has been viewed. Expectations were not met much, but there was no disappointment either. And this is a great joy for me personally. I saw what I expected. A high-quality action movie that is sure to please with visual and sound sequences: a lot of chases, shootouts, fights and explosions. I can't remember when I've seen something as wild but beautiful. It was probably some kind of "Raid". The painting came out as a walk-through. As they say, for once. I fully admit that the demanding viewer will be disappointed. However, if you do not wait for a masterpiece in every sense, then the picture will seem good. At least a couple of hours won't be wasted. 7 out of 10