Sometimes, moviegoers just want a plain old action flick. It may not be the kind of film that draws critical praise, but boy if it doesn’t have high octane physical action, and explosions. Action is a legit genre unto itself – and its one that the Russo Brothers of Captain America: (Winter Soldier and Civil War) and Avengers (Infinity War and Endgame) are very familiar with on a superhero level. But their latest film, The Gray Man takes things back to reality a bit, focusing on regular humans, sans web-slinging, hammer-wielding, and shield-tossing.
Instead of S.H.I.E.L.D., we get a movie focused on a covert group within the CIA comprised of former criminals hired to carry-out hush-hush assassinations. Ryan Gosling, playing Sierra Six – one such assassin. His assigned job goes sideways resulting in his going off the grid with bad guy assassin Lloyd Hansen (played by Chris Evans) in hot pursuit. The movie is a showcase for the Russo’s deftness for action sequences, but is equally a platform for Ryan Gosling to wear 1:1 UK replica watches from the brand he very recently teamed up with. For those out there who are waiting for the Netflix debut of this movie in one week’s time, this will be entirely spoiler free … except for the watch.
Why We’re Watching
The Gray Man arrives in theaters today. It also premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles this past Wednesday – and HODINKEE was live on the scene. Not only were we in the theater for the premier, but we got to hear from Gosling himself. You might remember that we were also in LA when it was announced that he would be a brand ambassador for high quality TAG Heuer fake watches. Well, it also turns out that this film was set to begin shooting shortly after he became one. It was at that time that he suggested his character wear a specific TAG in this film … and the brand had to get it to him in two days.
Sure enough they did, and the watch he wears is the one that debuted with his ambassadorship. It’s the newest best replica TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 watches with a silver dial on both a stainless steel bracelet and a strap (the reason will become clear once you see the film), and he wears this watch – and this watch only – throughout the entire film.
“With this film, it really felt like there was a real opportunity, because perfect copy watches are such a part of spy movies,” Gosling told HODINKEE’s Nora Taylor the day before the film’s premier. “It was an opportunity to say something about this character, and we were trying to create a fresh take on a spy character. So I thought this particular watch was helpful in doing that.”
Gosling went on to say how he felt it was important for the Swiss movements replica watches to remain a constant for his character, despite other variables in his life changing. “There’s like nine action set pieces in this movie, multiple different identities that are wildly different from each other,” Gosling says. “I’m in this kind of heightened red suit, then I go into this sort of tracksuit in the middle of the film, but the watch stays the same.”
The Carrera Calibre 5 is about as classic sports super clone watches for sale as you’re going to find from the brand. You get a clean, simple dial layout, and a convenient date window at six o’clock. It’s sized right at the 39mm sweet spot and really represents the most conservative kind of design coming out of TAG today. And I think that makes it a good fit for Gosling, who has been known to wear 34mm vintage pieces in the past. The TAG Heuer partnership was Gosling’s first ambassadorship of any kind, so to see him announced alongside this watch, and then for him gravitate to it so much that he personally requested it be on his wrist in this movie is cool to see.
And it wasn’t the first choice of replica watches for men for the film either – hence the two day scramble to get it to him. “This was not the brand intended for this movie,” Gosling said. “And when I first tried on the brand that was intended, it was way too big and really impractical. It just felt like something this guy would never wear.”
Considering Gosling is that guy, I would say the watch he ended up preferring – that being the TAG – was the right way to go. Now say what you will about brand ambassadors, and product placement, but this partnership of AAA fake watches and film came together quite quickly in a moment where Gosling knew he needed to make a change to the choice of timepiece for his character. In his mind, that right choice was the Carrera, which ends up getting serious on-screen time in this absolutely bonkers action/spy-thriller.
When We’re Watching
In the second scene of the film, we see Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling) dressed in a red suit at a New Years Eve party in Thailand. We watch as he lifts a napkin to his lips after some charming back and forth with fellow spy, Dani Miranda (played by Ana de Armas). It’s at this moment that we see the TAG for the first time. Not long after, he sneaks into a secret room for an assignment and the top replica watches is visible as he removes his jacket and assembles his weaponry. So we see his action movie-friendly arms as he arms himself. Get it?
In a flashback scene that takes place two years in the past, we find Sierra Six (Gosling) tasked with protecting the niece of a certain character in the film played by Billy Bob Thornton. Six is wearing a gray suit (like the name of the film) and he begins to engage in some banter with the young girl. As he does so, we watch him hold his hands together in front of his waist … you now, classic watch guy pose. The camera then frames the Carrera in what I like to call, the hero shot.