The Grey (2012)

The Grey (2012)

5/10

Starring:
Liam Neeson
Frank Grillo
Dermot Mulroney
Dallas Roberts

Directed by Joe Carnahan

The first thing that pulled me into this movie was the marketing. They tried to pass it off as some spiritual survival story, probably hoping to hook the Christian crowd.

But let’s be honest, this isn’t a spiritual movie. Unless debates about God’s existence and people yelling at the sky excite you, then maybe you’ll find some meaning. If not, it’s just another survival film with extra talking.

The Grey, for the most part, is half captivating. You get wolves, snow, survival, and some drama in between. We get some info on how wolves hunt, how they behave, and a few other bits, but it’s not deep enough to count as educational.

Originally, the lead role was meant for Bradley Cooper, but Liam Neeson stepped in. And to be fair, he held it down. Hats dip to you, sir.

The story kicks off with a plane crash—oil rig workers stuck in the middle of frozen nowhere, Alaska-style. They’re barely holding it together, and then the wolves show up. Glowing eyes, constant howling, full horror setup.

The first guy gets taken while he’s meant to be on watch. From that moment, you know the wolves are running things, and it becomes a countdown from there.

Now, if that was all the film gave us, I’d easily rate it an 8. But no… they had to start getting philosophical. Long talks about God, why bad things happen, what’s the meaning of it all. Every time they sat around the fire to talk, I was just waiting for a wolf to jump in and interrupt.

Why does every survival movie need a smart-ass?

You’ve got a group of clueless men and one guy who knows the wild—his actual job was to protect the rig from wolves. But still, someone always wants to challenge him. “Who made you leader?” Really? In this situation, the guy with actual knowledge is the leader. It’s common sense.

There’s a saying: in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. This guy had two eyes and still had people questioning him. That trope is tired.

That’s just sick.

The visuals were solid though. The camera work, the tension, the mood—all done right.

In the end, I think they wanted to mix survival with big life questions. At one point, Neeson’s character is yelling into the sky, asking God to show up. But nothing happens, so he keeps moving.

That kinda sums up the film. It starts strong, dips into too much talk, and then ends the way you probably expected.