Steve Blatteis

I loved the series of books, and anxiously awaited opening night of The Gray Man movie to see what they had in store for us. The first book was sensational, lots of backstory and details, that all helped you gain a better understanding of the gray man. Much of this was missing in the movie. I can see where the viewer that did not read the book would have a hard time piecing together the plot and staying interested because so much was either changed or left out. For example, as the gray man makes his way through Europe, there are at least 10 different groups of assassins waiting at every corner, ready to stop him from getting to France. The book slows way down and allows you to experience each one of the battles, and the cleverness displayed by the gray man; and your anticipation grows because you know what’s waiting for him at the mansion. All of that slow burn was left out of the movie. I'm astonished the Gray Man was able to drive a tuk tuk from Bangkok all the way to Chiang Mai. A tuk tuk can probably max out at 35mph. All the way to Chiang Mai??? Really? Had they made this into a mini series, instead of picking and choosing and speeding their way through the plot, I think they could’ve really captured the thrilling ride that was captured in Greaney’s amazing first Gray Man book. I was a little worried about Ryan Gosling playing the gray man, but I think he was believable fitting into the gray man persona, and did a great job with the dialogue he had to work with. The thing is, the gray man just doesn’t say much. The agent that helped him throughout was a completely new and added character. Come on...the Gray Man works alone! I’d like to see Netflix take a crack at another one of the gray man books!!!