It's Liam Neeson pitted against Mother Nature in "The Grey," writer-director Joe Carnahan's fourth outing. Carnahan, the man behind such middling fare as 2007's frenetic "Smoking Aces" and the unnecessary adaptation of "The A-Team," has very likely found his first big box office hit with "The Grey," however, the film is only a slightly above-average thriller with a stylish aesthetic gloss.
Beloved macho man Neeson plays Ottoway, a suicidal oil field worker in Alaska. He and his ragtag team of coworkers board a plane that-surprise, surprise-crashes in the middle of the desolate tundra. With only a few of the passengers surviving the wreck, Neeson takes it upon himself to lead the group as they face adverse environmental challenges that include white-out blizzard conditions and a pack of very persistent blood-thirsty wolves. Having no form of digital communication and no idea of their exact location, Neeson and his men's only option for survival is to aimlessly wander around in the snow seeking out help.
For the most part, "The Grey"'s plot structure comes off as very familiar and been-there, done-that. At points, it really feels like "Cast Away" on ice. Neeson delivers his trademark gravitas, making for the film's only somewhat engaging performance-although this is the same brand of character he did in "Taken" and "Unknown." The supporting cast (among them "Warrior"'s Frank Grillo and "J. Edgar"'s Dermot Mulroney) gives forgettable turns that fail to provide the emotional oomph that Carnahan was no doubt trying to convey. Not that it matters, as most of the cast is obvious wolf fodder.
In its favor, "The Grey" is a technical marvel that is very sharply crafted and impeccably edited. Shot on location in Canada, all the long takes of the characters wandering on the wilderness landscape serve to punctuate the film's overarching sense of isolation and desperation. The natural scenery in the movie is as beautiful as it is terrifying and is one of "The Grey"'s biggest strengths.
Without question, Carnahan knows how to stage a thrilling action sequence. The plane crash scene might well be the most harrowing in the history of cinema. All of the wolf attacks are very suspenseful, and the wolves themselves come off the screen as frighteningly realistic. There are many scenes of disturbing brutality in "The Grey," making for a movie-going experience not fit for the squeamish.
What ultimately prevents "The Grey" from reaching the heights of a quality thriller is a combination of unoriginal storytelling, hackneyed melodrama (characters crying out to the heavens for help) and a series of gaping plot holes. Also, though the film prides itself in its stark realism, how can Neeson's character get caught in a freezing river with so little clothes on and not succumb to hypothermia?
A post-credits scene that absolutely doesn't fit the movie's tone further damages "The Grey." It will be fascinating to see how audiences respond to this superfluous add-on. At most, "The Grey" is a solid matinee movie and proof that Carnahan should forgo screenwriting and stick solely to directing.
Grade: C
