REVIEW: The Grey
Holy Sh#t.
That was intense. I was literally shaking at some points in what has become probably the best movie so far of the new year, and probably the best man vs wild film to come out in ages.
The Grey follows a pack of survivors who find their plane crashing in the middle of nowhere. With the icy cold winter threatening to starve them and freeze them, they confront a pack of monstrous wolves who have made the territory their home.
Liam Neeson fills in the role of Ottway, a hard as rock everyman who leads the group of doomed survivors. He seems to be creating an awesome niche for himself as the middle-aged action hero, and this role probably cements him as one of the biggest bad asses in the world. Forget Chuck Norris and his PG-13 crap on Expendables, you never fuck with Neeson. He has such gravitas in his acting and voice, but balances it out with such vulnerability that he creates layers of empathy rarely felt in survival movies.
What’s more, Joe Carnahan (Narc) directs a movie that is surprisingly smart and almost philosophical. One would think that asking questions of the meaning of life and having bouts with existentialism would bog down an action-survival film, but no. Rather it creates an atmosphere of very human emotions, and makes us really know the survivors and how they question their very survival. This accomplishes what very few similar movies does, it makes us really, really root that these poor sods make it back home.
But the entire way there is laced with a haunted atmosphere, a frigid wasteland that makes you cringe with every step. The sound work here is brilliant, and you could feel your fingers freezing in every scene. The wolves, and action moments are spectacular, wonderfully paced so that you are never let off. The entire movie barrages you with almost unbearable tension that there are moments that you just want to grab a knife and cut that thread just to get it over with.
There are movies out there that I love that I may not recommend to everyone. Sometimes, I know their taste in movies just wouldn’t fit my recommendation. This is a film that defies that, because I don’t care what kind of movies you like, you watch this movie, you will be on the edge of your seat. And until that crescendo of a finish, you won’t stop gripping your handle bars and sipping into your drink just to tear your eyes away from the intensity on screen.
Oh, and whatever you do… STAY UNTIL AFTER THE CREDITS. Liam-f@ckin-Neeson
9/10
