It's interesting that Liam Neeson and director Joe Carnahan's careers have intersected at a time when both are going through a reinvention. Despite having starred in numerous action films(Darkman anyone?), and even playing a Jedi at one point, Neeson has always been considered a higher class of actor. 2008's Taken changed all that, and audiences quickly responded to seeing the old guy break a few skulls. Now you can't throw an elbow without hitting another action flick with Neeson in it somewhere. Carnahan's career took off with Narc, a corrupt cop flick that was more observant than the genre usually allows for. He decided to go as far away from that film as possible, with the incoherent Smokin' Aces and the stupid but thrilling remake of The A-Team, where he and Neeson finally crossed paths.
The Grey is something of a course change for Carnahan and Neeson. That's not to say it isn't another muscular,beefy action flick where Neeson gets to grit his teeth and prove how indestructible he is. He's still a man with a very "particular set of skills", and in some ways The Grey could be considered an extension of Taken, showing what happens to men who go down that dark and dirty path but later in life find they have nothing left to fight for. In that capacity, The Grey is a slightly more contemplative film than some are expecting, but with a mix of old school man vs. nature thrills and surprising character development it proves to be a frequently exciting, intense experience.
Neeson plays Ottway, who when we meet him is literally moments away from taking his own life at the end of a gun. A lonely sniper working on an Alaskan oil rig, protecting the men from wolf attacks, Ottway is a man who has lived a long life full of darkness and pain. He pines for and dreams of his wife, who is inexplicably missing. Narration in movies like this rarely works, but here it's used to perfect effect, capturing the torturous depths of Ottway's soul. Basically a member of the walking dead, he goes from job to job without a thought.
It's on a flight to one of these jobs that Ottway comes crashing towards his ultimate destiny. While dreaming of his beloved, she is violently pulled away from him, just as he is yanked back into reality by a defining crash. The plane is hurtling towards the earth, the chaos presented in a dizzying array of breakneck angles. Moments later, he awakens in the wreckage along with a handful of survivors, all facing the prospect of a slow, frigid death in the Alaskan wilderness.
It isn't long before Ottway takes command, and in sticking with the usual formula for films like this, archetypal personalities for the other men emerge quickly. Some figure out that Ottway's a badass and fall in line without hesitation, while others, like the perpetually angry John Diaz(Frank Grillo), need to put in their place through confrontation. If the elements and starvation don't kill them, they each face a much faster, more violent demise at the fangs of a group of wolves who begin to stalk them. Their eyes glowing in the murky darkness, the wild animals are more like horror movie monsters than anything else. Expecting them to act like actual wolves would is silly. They are merely tools, meant to put Ottway's internal struggle into blinding focus. How does a man who merely hours before was ready to punch his own ticket, convince a group of men with stronger convictions and more to live for to fight and survive?
While none of the supporting cast is particularly well developed, the performances are strong nonetheless. The camaraderie between them, all fathers, husbands, and brothers with family waiting for them, is believable for a group of men staring death in the face. There are moments of levity that spring up in unusual circumstances, but there's always a touch of fear underneath. Neeson, of course, is the pillar of strength, and manages to make his every action believable. When Ottway hits his lowest moment, shouting his defiance at God for not helping him and his friends at their moment of need, you believe he'll still manage to fight and win even though the odds are impossibly stacked against him. But for all it's deep ruminations, The Grey also gives you a few moments of unfettered schlock, like when Ottway wraps his knuckles in broken liquor battles for a man vs. wolf throwdown. Hilarious.
We like to joke about January and it's preponderance of forgettable genre flicks, and that's often true. The Grey isn't one of those. It's good enough to satisfy those who just want to see Neeson square off against Mother Nature, but it's also introspective enough to please those looking for something more.
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