The Grey: Movie Review

As of late, actor Liam Neeson has been making quite a name for himself as an action/drama movie star and now you can add survivalist to that list.

I have been following his exploits since his film Taken and I was immediately blown away at how he transformed his character from loving and caring parent to hunter. He literally tracks down his daughter's kidnappers with a combination of intelligence tactics and physically persuasive techniques to convince the baddies in his favor. Yeah, beating the crap out of evildoers makes a plan go into motion.

And, I loved every minute of his stampede through Europe to rescue his daughter. His famous "I'll find you and I'll kill you" line has been a trademark that defined him as a badass. He even obliged a fan during a interview on the Graham Norton Show by recording the line as a voicemail greeting. Check the link below. The voice recording segment happens toward the end of the clip, but watch the whole thing, it's great!



Even his next film Unknown is filled with enough suspense, intrigue and action to keep you glued to the screen. Don't take my word for it, just watch it yourself.

Now back to The Grey. After seeing that Neeson had a new film coming out, I became very interested in what this new project might bring. The title alone brings much vagueness and blurriness, and that not because of all the snow falling. Actually, the title plays an important role in foreshadowing the where the film goes and how it ends. I'm not going to reveal anything because I think anyone interested should just go and watch it. Still, however nebulous the trailer might seem, trust me when I say that you're in for quite a treat!

I have to say right away that this movie has increased my fear plane crashes, collisions and freezing. So, around the 15 minute mark, John Ottway's (Neeson) plane crashes over what I believe is somewhere in deep freezing, snowing Alaska. Out of a plane with about 20-30 passengers, only 7 survive the crash. Not much is revealed about the background of any of these characters. Neeson's character's background is slowly explored through flashbacks of himself with another woman who we later understand is his wife.

Immediately, right from the start, as soon as they start to pick themselves up from the devastating crash the principle antagonists are revealed-- THE WOLVES! The film becomes a quest of survival as Neeson's character tries to save anyone from the feral jaws of nature. Why does Neeson's character take it upon himself to play leader and save everyone? Because he's fucking Liam Neeson! And, his character, Ottway, is a hunter and specialist in survival situations; he makes Bear Grylls and any other TV show survivalist look like an amateur. I mean, Neeson's character fights a wolf with his own DAMN BARE HANDS! I was shouting at the top of my lungs when I saw that. Of course, disagreements happen has members from the surviving party question authority and location, but when the wolves start picking them off one-by-one, they just follow.

Going back to my reemerging fears. Yeah, plane crashes and freezing. I have flown in planes and experienced turbulence of different levels, but the fear is always there and I manage to suck it up and just relax. This probably sounds like I'm more nervous about flying then I actually am, but I'm pretty cool. Anyway, crashing first but the freezing is another story. The survivors end up in blizzard conditions, so maintaining warm is a necessity. However, there are moments where Ottway falls into streams of freezing water and I'm like, WHAT! Even after those moments, he forges on. I think I would've died of hypothermia a long time ago. Characters undergo extreme psychological changes that represent real consequences to conditions of near death.

It was just a great movie that continued to carry Liam Neeson's trademark badassness! I mean, he frickin' fought a wolf--with his bare hands!!



Neeson continues to surprise me by how well he adapts to these tough roles. I like it a lot and would be terrified to go up against him and his badassness. Like I said, the film a well worth a watch, and every moment tests and pushes each of the characters to their breaking point. Watching Liam Neeson strap on a makeshift glove/gauntlet/weapon of broken bottles to one hand with tape, and a knife in the other just sent chills down my spin.

Until next time, survive!