The Grey

Many times, I've pointed out that I've become a big fan of Liam Neeson's work. He's really shown to many that he can play many different characters and pull off an excellent performance. He's played an arch rival of Batman, attempting to conquer Gotham City; a man, with the troubling experiences of the Holacost; a man, who tries to find out who he really is, and why another man has his identity; the almighty god of sky and thunder, of Greek mythology; and a father, helping his son try to confess to the one he's loved. He's a really solid actor, and shows that he can get into a role that's believable enough.

In 2010, Neeson had portrayed John "Hannibal" Smith, once played by the late-George Peppard, in "The A-Team, directed by Joe Carnahan and produced by the Scott brothers. Alongside Neeson, were Bradley Cooper as Templeton "Face" Peck, once played by Dirk Benedict, Quinton Jackson as B.A. Barcus, once played by Mr. T, and Sharlto Copley as "Howling Mad" Murdock, once played by Dwight Schaultz. What the film was, was a film that was a prime example of how to adapt a TV show from the 80's and bring it to the big screen, in the right way.

Now Carnahan, the Scott brothers, AND Neeson return with a new film, "The Grey". How does it hold up? Well, I can say this, it's good.

Liam Neeson plays John Ottway, a man who works at an oil drill in Alaska. After he and six of his co-workers survive a plane crash, they must now work together to survive the cold, and keep away from a pack of wolves hunting them down. For what the film gives, it shows a lot of passion as a survival film, and is one of the best I've seen, since Robert Zemeckis' "Cast Away", starring Tom Hanks. It also shows a lot of potential given, as a strong thriller, and letting the cold atmosphere of the film seep under your skin, and make you feel like you're in deep snow.

The characters in the film are pretty good...for the most part. There were a couple of useless characters that didn't do much, and I didn't see much point to them. But the rest, I found to be entertaining enough. Neeson is good, as always, and Frank Grillo and Dallas Roberts' characters were worth it as well. Now, if I had to say one major problem with the film, it's the intensity. Granted, I'm all for intense films, but it's how MUCH intensity there is to it. It took itself serious, but too serious. If the tone of the film had been lowered a bit, then it could have been a much stronger film. And also, there really isn't a third act. I felt like each act of it was an hour long, and it was only two hours. Granted, I did enjoy the ending, but I felt like there wasn't much to it. But aside from those two problems, I really enjoyed it.

Overall, "The Grey" is possibly the best survival film I've seen in years, and I'm hoping it gets more praise later on. I highly recommend it to fans of the genre, fans of Liam Neeson, or just to find something to kill time.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

9/10