Guy Ritchie keeps piling up big‑cast action comedies with In the Grey. Early reviews have crossed the wires.
Has Ritchie been betting more on quantity than on quality? Since Aladdin in 2019, the British filmmaker has been cranking out roughly a feature a year: The Gentlemen in 2020, Wrath of Man in 2021, Operation Fortune and The Covenant in 2023, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare in 2024, Fountain of Youth in 2025… An incredibly brisk pace given the level of pyrotechnics in each outing, which streaming services now feast on.
The next on the docket is In the Grey, another action‑comedy reuniting two of his regulars—Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal—this time joined by Eiza González. The film follows a super‑badass elite unit pulled into an island heist that goes spectacularly wrong, and it hit theaters on May 15 in the United States, where it opened modestly. The reviews are out.
In the Grey Area of Reviews
“There is still something admirable about Ritchie fully embracing the brisk, character‑driven style that defined many of his early films. Even when the balance between sharp dialogue, engaging storytelling, and the action doesn’t quite land, the film remains consistently entertaining.”
ScreenRant
“Don’t go into the British writer‑director’s latest heist movie expecting something you wouldn’t find in his other heist films.”
Variety
“From time to time, it’s worth noting the existence of a technically competent, but utterly uninteresting film.”
The Wrap
“Today, Ritchie’s films are all about stylish people sowing chaos, blowing up lots of stuff, and taking down less stylish villains along the way. Not only does In the Grey deliver on those promises, but it also details how Sid and Bronco steer their chaos onto the rails.”
The New York Times
“At least, the latest effort from Guy Ritchie proves a film can be ridiculously convoluted and entirely simple at the same time.”
The Hollywood Reporter
“Contrary to expectations, In the Grey could be Ritchie’s most purely entertaining film in years. Sure, it’s sometimes a bit chaotic (you can feel the long nights in the editing room, especially toward the end) and occasionally written in a nonsensical way, but it’s also an incredibly fun time from start to finish.”
The Guardian
“Filled with exposition and an interminable voice‑over, flat, personality‑devoid characters, and tedious action moments, In the Grey is a lull in the director’s track record, who has proven in the past he can deliver far more entertaining films.”
IGN
“I’m not one to complain about a 98‑minute action movie, but in the end, In the Grey feels rushed. A bit more time could have not only better realized all the setup of Sid and Bronco, but also given the characters more room to feel like real people, rather than standardized hard‑edge archetypes.”
Collider
While some managed to enjoy the spectacle, it’s clear that the reception of In the Grey is once again broadly mixed. One can, without going out on a limb, infer that fans of his earlier work will likely find something to enjoy here. The others, not so much. The director has rarely earned praise from the press, save perhaps for his debut film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. In France, it’s still too early to form an opinion, as the feature remains without any release date.
