The Grey

Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Nonso Anozie, Joe Anderson

Dir. Joe Carnahan
Scr. Joe Carnahan & Ian Mackenzie Jeffers

The movie in which Liam punches some wolves. Well, I must say I was slightly apprehensive. But I was assured by many critics that it’s not as bad as it sounds. And, you know what, it’s not. In fact, it’s pretty darn good. The Grey does not always work, is mostly utterly predictable and could have lost 20 minutes without anyone noticing. But, boy, when it does work, it’s wild and terrifying. And Liam continues his reign as the number one most rugged and awesome aged action hero. I can’t think of another actor working today that could have pulled off “alpha male” in such a convincing way.

The Grey follows a group of plane crash survivors as they brave the icy and treacherous conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, led by Ottway (Neeson), a mysterious sharp-shooter contracted to keep wolves from attacking his oil-drilling colleagues. They are largely a group of roughnecks, hard men used to working in hard conditions. But nothing prepares them for a pack of wolves intent on picking them off one by one. As you can imagine, things do not go well for the human pack.

So, first of all, let’s address the obvious – this movie requires a great deal of disbelief suspension. Would a pack of wolves really be overly bothered by a handful of men who are likely to be killed by the conditions sooner or later? How likely is it that wolves would kill, but leave the bodies behind? How on earth did they keep that fire going in a blizzard? I don’t know the answer to these questions but none of it sat very easily with me. My advice – just let it go. Let the ridiculousness of the situation just wash over you and move on. And enjoy the scenery. Of course, on another level, the wolves represent so much more than just bloody-thirsty killers – it’s not much of a stretch to see this movie as a mythical struggle of man versus nature, the inhumanity of man, the existence of God, the pointlessness of life, and so on and so forth.

However much you want to read into this film, there is no doubting the brilliance of some of its set-pieces. The plane crash alone was absolutely worth the price of admission. To say it wasn’t easy to watch is a huge understatement – it was utterly terrifying and harrowing. The immediate aftermath is equally compelling and frightening. I also very much enjoyed the completely unbelievable jumping-off-the-cliff scene. I was more than simply on edge though. A couple of scenes had me in tears – the best, without question, involved Ottway helping a man accept his death after the horrific crash. Wow – brilliantly written and beautifully acted.

The acting on offer here is top-notch. There’s no doubt that this is Neeson’s show, but he has some quality support, particularly from Roberts and Grillo. The band of survivors are a varied bunch and there are no weak links, acting-wise. Neeson, unbelievably turning sixty later this year, is perfect. He is pure masculinity.

The Grey is overlong and, at times, kind of silly. But it’s also tense and compelling and frightening. I can’t say I was unhappy it was over. Avoid if you can’t stomach a bit of gore, or scare easy. But I definitely recommend for fans of Neeson and of gripping stories of survival.

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Ottway: Don’t move. Stare right back at them.