Friday, February 10, 2012

"The Grey" Movie Review

 

Liam Neeson has once again proven that he is one of Hollywood’s strongest actors. He plays a suicidal, depressed man who works as a sniper who protects oil riggers in the Alaskan wilderness. He recently lost his wife and almost commits suicide.

He is headed home along with the other oil riggers, when the plane suddenly crashes in the middle of nowhere. Only a handful of the men are left alive, and they somehow have to survive the freezing temperatures and deal with the lack of food. As if that weren’t bad enough, they crashed near a huge pack of wolves that don’t care for trespassers.

These aren’t just wolves. These creatures are otherworldly. They are truly terrifying and the howls sounded so frightening, that it makes you feel like you’re watching a horror film instead of an adventure. When they kill someone, it’s very sudden and unexpected, and that makes it even scarier.

I thought this was an excellent film. It kept me at the edge of my seat for the most part and the acting was superb. Many of the scenes, especially the plane crash, made you think that you were there with the characters. Director Joe Carnahan didn’t turn this into a mindless slaughter movie either. He gave each character their own personality and their own way of accepting death. When someone died, it was felt.

Many people will no doubt dislike the ending, especially if they were the ones going in with certain expectations based on the trailer. It did move a bit slow at times, and while the flashback sequences were effective, it felt as though some of them were unnecessary.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this film. It has an excellent cast, great cinematography, and the wolves were downright chilling. Definitely shouldn’t miss this one, as it will keep you on the edge of your seat. 4½/5.