The Grey Review

Plot Summary:
An Alaskan oil drilling team led by John Ottway (Liam Neeson) tries to survive the wilderness after a plane crash. However, they struggle to do so when a pack of wolves comes after them.

The Positives:
Lately, it feels like every year now that Liam Neeson comes out with another high-concept action movie that turn into instant box office hits. He had a real success with 2009's Taken, while he had a mediocre but somewhat successful film in last year's Unknown. I started to think that Liam Neeson just does these movies for the money, but this film changed that thought process I had. This may be the best of the recent Liam Neeson action films.

The performances and the characters are what make this film differentiate from recent action films. Liam Neeson gives it all in this performance, one that is very layered and that you instantly care for from the beginning. Rumors had it that this film was due to be released late 2011, but due to time constraint issues, they delayed the film to be released this weekend. If it was released in late 2011, I think Neeson would have been nominated for Best Actor for this performance. I'm glad that the studio is going to rerelease the film in October for Oscar consideration, I hope the Academy considers this performance later in the year. The rest of the cast is great as well: Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo and Dallas Roberts give wonderful supporting performances. What really makes this film great is how they set up these characters. Most of these characters at the start of the film are tough and careless, but when put in a situation like this, they're helpless and scared. This character development gives this film some structure, it makes it interesting and very thought-provoking as a result.

The writers did a fantastic job with this film too. What could have been just an ordinary nature action film is made into something much more because of the realism and the intelligent philosophical content this film delivers. These are not one-dimensional characters, these are flawed, layered characters we care for during this film and the writers did their jobs of developing these characters naturally. They also make this situation of being trapped in an area of wolves look realistic rather than Hollywoodize it. They add real fear and emotion to make this story as frightening as it should be.

I was also very surprised and pleased with the direction of this film. I am honestly shocked that the director of The A-Team worked on a film like this, but then I remembered that this is the same director who brought us the gritty and intriguing Narc. I am happy to see he is going back to his gritty roots here, telling a story artfully as well. The cinematography truly captures the mood of this film. It makes the wilderness as frightening as it should be. Without giving anything away, I want to say how much I loved how he ended the film. The film is gritty and dark enough already, but the ending is one you surely will not forget this year. It may just be the most haunting and thought-provoking ending I have seen in a while. This is thanks to the careful and passionate direction Joe Carnahan gives here. I hope he directs his films like this in the future.

The Negatives:
I really enjoyed this film for the most part, however some scenes feel a little slow. Certain scenes feel necessary for the slow duration, like scenes when they discuss home life and character revelations. For other scenes, it just felt a little unnecessary. This only happens once or twice in the film, so I consider it a minor flaw.

One issue I had is the misleading marketing this film had. The marketing dumbed down the film to make it look like a full action pic, when in reality it is a haunting and thought-provoking action pic. I know most mainstream audiences may be disappointed by this film because of this misleading marketing, but I'm glad this movie will be getting money as a result.

Conclusion:
The Grey is an intense, gritty and thought-provoking action film. One that will haunt you as soon as it ends and one that may require a second viewing. This is the first great film of 2012, I honestly did not expect it this soon.

Rating: 9 out of 10