The Grey (Carnahan, 2012)

[shariqq]

The Grey
Joe Carnahan | U.S.A. | 2012
117 min

Take one bad-ass actor. Throw him in the middle of nowhere. Pit him against a pack of wolves. Sounds like the perfect ingredients for a juicy genre film. The Grey is that film, and it is not. Liam Neeson plays the bad-ass who, along with colleagues posted in Alaska, crash lands into a snowy landscape with no hope of rescue. They soon realize that, by their very presence, they have threatened the territory of a pack of wolves, and so begins the survival game.

Director Joe Carnahan, after the stinker A-Team (2010), comes back roaring with a movie that is much more than what the trailers indicate. This is a survival-thriller with subtext. It is not fast-paced nor exploitative. Instead, it is paced rather leisurely (for its genre), and takes its time to explore Neeson's character's psychological state. This is a man who starts as someone ready to die, but through the movie, he becomes a man ready to face death -- there is a difference and we see that difference. Much like the plane crash scene that triggers the main-plot of the movie, what the movie shows us is not glorified for the audience, neither is it made a spectacle for the visual power it could carry. Instead the movie, and key scenes, are played out for their effect, much of which is based on the audience's understanding of what's going on. In doing so, the director shows great restraint, as well as a level of patience hardly seen in present-day mainstream filmmakers.

The Grey is not flawless; far from it. While the first & third act are excellent, it falters in its second act. A few deaths do seem forced, the director/script succumbing to the genre conventions, and these are dealt with in a by-the-numbers way, with little creativity about it. But, even for its flaws, this is Carnahan's return to form. If riding on the name of Liam Neeson in the lead-role for publicity and marketing The Grey as a genre movie brings the audience into the cinema, to bring such evolved movies to the general populace, so be it. And with a kick-ass ending like that, it is difficult to not be awed by it.

My Rating --> Good

[shariqq]

Poster:

[animatedude]

Carnahan was "cool" for like 5 days in 2002-2003 for making this little movie you didn't see called Narc but then he did Smokin' Aces, that's when everyone realized he is a hack.... And now he wants us to watch a movie about Liam neeson getting lost in Alaska?No thanks.

The only way to save this movie is if it ends with Sarah Palin being eaten by animals or something..

[ozzylogic]

It's too bad I missed it, I was really looking forward to watching it with you guys.

[ayaa1977]

So why are you so stingy with your rating. I assumed you'd at least rate it as Recommended with such a positive review, because reading it (excellent review by the way) made me very eager to see it now.

[fizz]

The only way to save this movie is if it ends with Sarah Palin being eaten by animals or something..

Unfortunately thats not how it ends, but the conclusion is one of the films strongest elements....and it is s very good film.