Shots ring intense from the thunderous surround system of the cinema. There’s blood, and a menacing low‑angle shot of a perp moves across the screen. The moment has Guy Ritchie written all over it.

Moments later, the opening of In The Grey feels as if it exists just to test the speakers, as Sofia (Eiza Gonzalez), the boss lady and narrator, lays out the details in Richie‑flavored, sharp‑tongued dialogue, but the story surprisingly unfolds ma non troppo. Slowly, but not too slowly.

“We move from the tail to the dog.”

As Bronco (Jake Gyllenhaal (‘Ambulance,’ ‘Donnie Darko’)) and Sid (Henri Cavill (‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,’ ‘Man of Steel’)) trade expressionless glances and a few dry words—with the funniest part so far being a dick pic in the sand—you begin to feel like you’re watching very expensive Finnish filmmaking instead of a film by the British director who made ball-of-fire action thrillers such as Snatch (2000) and one of my favorites, the sleek, stylish, 1960s Cold War spy banter action-comedy: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015).

U.N.C.L.E. proved that Ritchie, 57, is committed to kaizen. He is in pursuit of ongoing improvement and rediscovery. With this in mind, I settle into the cozy darkness of the cinema seat, a gentle rhythm in my chest signaling that the true motion is about to begin.