“In the Grey” (2026) is the latest Guy Ritchie film full of movers and shakers and moneymakers. Eiza González plays attorney Rachel Wild, a debt collector with scary dog privilege after assembling a field team of six men, including Sid (Henry Cavill) and Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal). Because of her confidence in her team’s brain and brawn, Rachel actively requests a job from Bobby Sheen (Rosamund Pike), an up and comer in Spencer Goldstein, a New York based asset management company, who loaned one billion dollars to Manny Salazar (Carlos Bardem, yes, Javier’s big brother). Salazar killed the last person who tried to collect. Things do not go according to plan. Can she rely on her men to keep her safe? If you are looking for a consistently entertaining movie with attractive people in attractive places doing impossible things with extreme effectiveness and efficiency to fulfill your fantasies of competence, this movie is a must see.
González is becoming a Ritchie staple in her third movie with him since “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” (2024), which also starred Cavill, and “Fountain of Youth” (2025). May will be a busy month for her since next week, she will appear in a lead supporting role in “I Love Boosters” (2026). González has been putting in the work with “Paradise Hills” (2019), “Alita: Battle Angel” (2019) and my fave, “Ash” (2025), so it is nice to see her career gaining some momentum though she probably can do a lot more. As mastermind Rachel, she fills in the blanks that Ritchie leaves regarding how she decided to enter such a high stakes profession, how she found her team and kept their loyalty. Sid treats her with the respect usually shown to Queen Elizabeth, and Bronco addresses her like a commanding officer. Rachel’s currency is creativity, unflappability and recruiting and keeping talent while staying professional. González does some subtle work when Rachel stands separated from the men showing how terrified she is during their adventures. Some people may not be a fan of Ritchie preferring to have characters who barely show emotion, but it is kind of a staple in movies with tension. He did not invent it, and González is not the only one who sticks to that style while delivering snappy dialogue rapid fire so back off if you have an issue when a woman does it.
The men are more archetypes than fully fleshed out characters, but it is fine. “In the Grey” does not sell itself on being a deep character study. It is essentially a heist film, but they are stealing their target’s stubbornness and will and running away with their lives. Behind the scenes, Rachel’s home team gets Ed Glover (Michael Vu) as the head who is busy using his computer skills to get the ammo that she needs for court. The team often calls Sid by his nickname, Captain Sensible. Cavill gets to sport a British accent and essentially be a big guy with delicate sensibilities in his third round with Ritchie after “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (2015). His most memorable solo field outing is outwitting Wolfgang Glose (Mohammad Al Turki), Salazar’s accountant, over a game of badminton. Cavill is sort of understated and verging on forgettable, which is not a bad thing since Sid is not the flashy one. In contrast, Bronco is known for his dry sense of humor, sarcasm and appreciation for the finer things in life. They mostly refer to everyone else’s last names in the field. Are they partners or a skosh above sophomoric and just like to make jokes as if they are? With Ritchie, you never know. He enjoys having tough gay guy characters in his movies. Sorry, pervs, no nudity.
They have four team members who follow their orders as if they are a military unit. Andre Baker (Kojo Attah) is a man of few words and handles explosives. Jonathan Moreno (Christian Ochoa Lavernia) arranges ground transport. Mick Dunne (Emmett J. Scanlan) handles munitions. Gucci Reyes (Jason Wong) handles tech, usually the drone. The four hire a local concierge, Javier (Gonzalo Bouza), who acquires their supplies on Salazar’s island. The four men’s job is to simultaneously look impressive without detracting from the stars. Most of their dialogue could probably be written on a napkin. This is also fine because there are reams of dialogue that Ritchie illustrates rapid fire with spelled out images of the play by play so having more dialogue just to flesh out these minimalist roles is wholly unnecessary. Editors Martin Walsh and Jim Weedon slept well after working on “In the Grey.”
Bardem does a good job as the big bad with his head of security (Kristofer Hivju from “Game of Thrones” who does not get to use his sense of humor) ready to execute his orders on the island and his increasingly nervous lawyer, William Horowitz (Fisher Stevens), who is losing big to Rachel in court before Judge Taylor E. Maddox (Susan Lawson-Reynolds) who has the power to issue internationally enforced orders, and I’m just going to sign a waiver and not do research. Everyone else is just nameless, hunky henchmen barely distinguishable from the team, but all photogenic and ready for their sliver of fame.
Pike is the only one whose character does not get her hands dirty. Bobby is a craven character who, unlike Rachel, does not have a game face, which may explain why she stays firmly in her office even for work outs while donning her business attire. It is nice for Pike to play a jerk again except without the stomach or the logistical mind to keep the upper hand.
“In the Grey” is satisfying in how Ritchie lays out the plan, executes it then surprises so the story can loop back and just get devoted to action. It feels like an old-fashioned movie with its split screens, but the speed of the montages feels brand spanking new. If you see a lot of movies, you have seen movies like this one, but it is still great fun to see again with different people filling the roles. If you enjoy anyone in the cast, this flick is a must see! Costume designer Loulou Bontemps may not have a heavy lift since González and Pike are already gorgeous, but damn, she still brought the house down with some fabulous looks, including a random unexplained desert montage which probably just exists so Rachel could wear a “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) inspired look among many. Valid. Waiver signed!
On a random side note, there were no screenings or screeners, but it is not a bad movie, which is puzzling. There are more movies like this lately so if you see that a movie has few or no reviews before opening, it is no longer indicative of the quality of the movie. It is a solid movie and better than a lot out there. Prioritize “Is God Is” (2026) and “Obsession” (2026), but if you have time and money to spare, it is a good way to spend a little time.
