Review of The Grey

I am as excited as the next guy whenever I hear that Liam Neeson is doing another action movie. The Grey is based around Neeson's character, who works as a security guard protecting the workers (all convicts) from attacks from wolves, they are all forced to to work together to survive when their plane crash lands in the middle of nowhere and they are attacked by a pack of wolves.

When looking into the challenges in making this movie, it is apparent that the biggest challenge was the use of wolves. Since you cannot successfully train wolves, very few of the scenes are filmed using real wolves, for the majority they used puppets. It has to be said that the puppets look really realistic and the puppeteers and the special effects crew deserve a round of applause for their work.

Now to the film, it is long, and was never going to be a major motion picture, but it is a fantastic example of great acting and great use of set and scenery. Liam Neeson plays his role as well as he does in all his films, to be honest this role isn't much different to that of say, Taken (just change his goal and motive); since the film is strongly character driven, it is important that the rest of the cast is an strong as the main lead, and luckily this the makers realised that and Neeson is accompanied by an above average cast. Instantly we have a group of characters that are likable, and each have there own individual characteristics that contribute to the story.

It's difficult to review a film like this because it's a hardly a fast paced action drama, but it draws you in, and you feel an attachment to the characters and understand their struggle.

The ending, I believe, will annoy a lot of people, the film builds and builds up the anticipation, and then, right when it's at the point of conclusion, when we finally think something is going to happen, the film ends! It leaves the audience shocked and confused, the result meaning that we are left to make our own decision about how it might possibly end. 

However, after the credits, there is an additionally scene, that gives us a small hint as to what conclusion the creators intended us to come to.

Overall, even though it's long, and the action isn't spectacular, for a film based on a group of men running away from wolves, it is amazingly done. There's something about it, that keeps us drawn in, even though on paper, it doesn't look like it's going to be anything special. So based on great performances that drives the film, I give The Grey 7/10