The Grey

TITLE: The Grey

DIRECTOR: Joe Carnahan

STARS: Liam Neeson

SCREEN WRITER(S) Joe Carnahan, Ian Mackenzie Jeffers,

RATING: R

GENRE: Action

BUDGET: $34,000,000

Being an avid camper and motorcyclist, it can be fair to say that I love nature. It can be calming, refreshing and make any bad day feel a little better. That being said, nature can totally suck as well. When looking at the possibilities of weather and nature, the negative aspects can easily out way the good. Civilization over the centuries has really sheltered the human race from the unforgiving terrors Mother Nature provides on day to day basis. Most of us wouldn’t have the slightest clue as to what it would take to survive in a strange uncolonized world where every second could be your last. Heck we hear a news report of six inches of snow coming and we wipe out the supermarkets because we just may not survive two days stuck indoors.

The Grey stars Liam Neeson, (Taken) who plays the role of Ottway, an employee of a fossil fuel plant stationed in Alaska whose job is to hunt and protect his fellow co-workers from the dangerous wild life that surrounds them. We learn early on that he is emotionally beat down by his past involving a woman but the details are kept unclear as it continues to plague him. Scheduled to depart home, Ottway boards a commercial jet with numerous other workers and set to take off in a snow storm that any pilot would consider suicide. Anyone in aviation knows that ice is a plane’s worst enemy so after hosing the aircraft off in a blizzard, it takes off to unsurprisingly crash in the baron Alaskan wilderness. Despite strapping himself to multiple seat belts in the air, Ottway lands far away from the crash with his seats nowhere to be found and survives mostly unscathed. He learns that only seven survivors remain and just when things couldn’t possibly get worse, he discovers that they are stranded on the hunting grounds of murderous wolves. Realizing that leaving the territory is everyone’s only hope for survival; Ottway leads everyone out into the unknown where the elements are just as deadly as any wolf bite.

The Grey is a screen adaption of the short story, ‘Ghost Walker’ written by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers who also wrote the film’s screen play. This is his second credited screenplay with “Death Sentence” being the first. For the most part pacing is a mixed bag from fast and suspenseful to flat out slow but never really gets to be boring during the cool down scenes as suspense is always there. Neeson’s plays the usual “down to earth but will kick ass if needed” role that fans have come to expect. Ottway takes what life throws at him and attacks back with a cool head stays constantly resourceful. The other characters unfortunately are nowhere near as interesting as the main protagonist. Right off the bat the audience is introduce to two characters that practically make one beg for their death scenes to arrive soon. Flannery, played by Joe Anderson, (The Crazies) is a yappy goof who annoys everyone around him while Diaz, played by Frank Grillo (Warrior) does nothing but complain and challenge authority without ever once contributing to the situation.  Remaining characters are fleshed out much better as the relationships between them and Ottway continue to grow. Dialog never gets forced sounding, and always sounds believable. Religion and faith is thrown into the story but it’s never shoved down the audience’s throat. It’s kept at level anyone would most likely question if faced in dire situations and facing one’s mortality.

Visually, The Grey is gorgeous as it shows off the untamed Alaskan territories well. Great camera work does a great job of showing the terrors and beauty of the wilderness that surround the characters. The special effects on the wolves though are another story. Off in the distance they can look great but when the close ups arrive, it is painfully obvious that the animals are not flesh and blood but instead CGI and animatronics. Nature itself though is the greatest special effect in this tale and is used flawlessly.

Sound is sharp and haunting when needed to be. There are many times when just hearing predators nearby make the atmosphere just as unnerving as seeing the wolves themselves. The music score is simply there to serve as a tool to boost the action when needed but never got to the point where it felt out of place. I honestly can’t remember any of the music but I know it was there when things got intense.

Overall, ‘The Grey’ is a decent “man vs. wild” flick that accomplishes its overall goal. The cinematography is great, Neeson doesn’t fail to disappoint, and it does bring up some interesting questions about what happens when we die. The few unrealistically annoying side characters however, bring the film down from being perfect. It should be noted that the deaths in this film are quite clever as it doesn’t rely solely on wolves ripping throats out constantly. The elements and ones own health can be just as deadly and it does a great job at depicting that. I was expecting an all out gore fest walking into this one and was pleasantly surprised when that wasn’t the case.

Rating 3.5 out of 5

Ryan Pierce