Audiences are taking a stand.
Critics and audiences don't see eye-to-eye on Guy Ritchie's latest. Rocking onto the scene with stylish British crime thrillers like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch , Ritchie now regularly releases major Hollywood movies.
The director continues to operate in the action thriller space, most recently releasing Fountain of Youth , The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare , and The Covenant . Related Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked From Worst To Best Between his unique brand of gangster movies like Snatch and Hollywood reboots like Aladdin, director Guy Ritchie has a constant high-quality output.
Posts By Colin McCormick Now, Ritchie's latest release, In the Grey , has arrived, and the film, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill, hasn't fared well with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics' score for the action thriller sits at a lackluster 47% from 38 reviews, as of writing. Though this score could fluctuate as more reviews are added, it's currently far lower than the audience-driven Popcornmeter, which is stronger at 83%.
In the Grey follows a team of covert operatives who plan a heist against an evil despot who has stolen a billion-dollar fortune. Eiza González stars opposite Gyllenhaal and Cavill, with Rosamund Pike, Carlos Bardem, Michael Vu, Fisher Stevens, and Kojo Attah rounding out the supporting cast. In the Grey marks more of the same from Ritchie, who, for better or worse, continues to offer his familiar mixture of stylish action and dialogue-driven humor.
There aren't many glowing reviews for the film on Rotten Tomatoes, with those marked"fresh" sitting more in the realm of 3 or 3.5 out of 5. The reviews that are positive praise the film's easy thrills, which include shootouts, car chases, attractive movie stars, and Ritchie's signature dialogue. Some of the negative reviews cite some of the same elements, suggesting Ritchie's signature sense of style may just have lost its charm for certain reviewers.
Many of the negative reviews hit similar points, with critics conveying that stilted performances and too much exposition drag down a generic story full of dull action. ScreenRant's own In the Grey review from Josh Bate is more positive at seven out of 10. For Bate, Gyllenhaal, Cavill, and González make for a compelling trio of stars, and the film effectively balances action and story, even if the dialogue does ocassional become a bit much.
Bate writes: here remains something admirable about Guy Ritchie fully embracing the fast-talking, character-driven style that defined many of his earlier films. Even when the balance between sharp dialogue, engaging storytelling, and action isn’t quite right, the film remains consistently entertaining nonetheless. Even though In the Grey hasn't fared particularly well with critics, it still marks an improvement over Fountain of Youth, which has only a 35% critics' score.
Audiences, for the most part, didn't connect with that film either, as the Popcornmeter score is 38%. Subscribe for concise takes on film reviews and trends Dive deeper by subscribing to our newsletter for clear, context-rich breakdowns of film receptions—like why Guy Ritchie's In the Grey splits critics and audiences—and to spot patterns across reviews and viewer scores. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
You can unsubscribe anytime. With critics and audiences, The Covenant is Ritchie's best-reviewed movie in recent years. The 2023 war drama, which also stars Gyllenhaal, sports a critics' score of 82% and a Popcornmeter of 98%. In the Grey, overall, is shaping up to be a somewhat middle-of-the-road entry in Ritchie's filmography.
The director has been operating in what seems to be his comfort zone in recent years, not offering up many surprises or variations to his filmmaking style. While some critics may be growing tired of this, it's clear there's still some mileage left for general viewers. 9.5/10 7/10 In the Grey 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Action Thriller Release Date May 15, 2026 Runtime 98 Minutes Director Guy Ritchie Writers Guy Ritchie Producers Ivan Atkinson, John Friedberg, Dave Caplan, Guy Ritchie Cast See All Powered by Expand Collapse
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