Film Review: The Grey

I really enjoyed The Grey. Like I really REALLY enjoyed it!

First off it is worth noting that the Grey is NOT an action film, no matter what you may have seen from the trailers. If you realise this before you watch it then you too may actually enjoy The Grey as I did and much more than those hoping for Taken Part Two.

To be honest The Grey is not very similar to Taken or other recent Liam Neeson films at all. It is not Neeson versus the big bad wolf nor is it him versus the world and it most certainly is not him being an all-out action star and totally bossing his surroundings as he has done so often in the past. I would go as far as to say that it is not even an action film but instead that The Grey is a drama that just happens to have some wolves in it.

As you can probably already guess The Grey was not what I was expecting at all. The attention to detail by director Joe Carnahan (whose previous work like Narc & Smoking Aces I really enjoyed - but could not be further away from this) is sublime. The dialogue between the survivors of the plane crash is more akin to what you would expect to find in a TomDiCillio or Ed Burns film – rather than a Joe Carnahan one. The scenes with the lads getting to know each other around the campfire are emotional to say the least. The build up to the occasional flash of violence is fantastically well done and the splattering of the wolves throughout reminds us perfectly that it is not just the weather and arctic conditions Neeson and his crew are up against. I never thought I would say this – but The Grey doesn’t actually need the wolves in it to be considered a good film.

Liam Neeson is simply brilliant and when you think about what he has had to go through in his personal life and then what his character goes through in the film – it becomes all the more heartbreaking. I honestly do not know where the acting starts and where real life ends. It must have been a tough time for him making it, all things considered.

It is worth noting too that the way in which the film studio marketed The Grey was nothing less than awful. From seeing the trailers you would think The Grey is man versus animal throughout. I had heard many disappointing reviews of this film; mainly because it was not like it seemed in the trailer at all, in fact I will once again repeat that I do not think The Grey is even an action film – but rather a drama. It's funny in parts, unsettling in others and overall I found it to be a really well made emotionally driven film. But then that's just me.

In conclusion I would recommend The Grey to all Liam Neeson, Joe Carnahan and fans of drama in general. Just make sure you forget everything that happened in the trailers first. Highly recommended (by this reviewer anyway). 4 / 5