The Grey

"They pay me to kill these animals so they don't kill you. Trust me, they're carnivores and they don't give a shit about berries and shrubs!" A great film that I'm in no way afraid to compare to the best in this genre. That is, with The Ghost and the Darkness or The Edge. It hasn't been this cold (without blaming the excessive air conditioning) and frightening in a movie theatre for a long time, and I'm thrilled. I certainly didn't expect that The Grey would be such a thoughtful film, that it would move me to emotion a few times in the end, or that it would be so full of thrilling action... And I couldn't even guess how great a compromise between these two positions the writers and director manage to create. Liam Neeson is flawless, the band of surviving miners are a very well written mix of characters (each of whom I cared about), scenes like the plane crash, waking up from dreams, night and day wolf attacks, individual deaths and the stunning finale (including the potluck scene) impressed me as much as the hero's non-awkward inner monologues, flashbacks and ubiquitous, here and there very funny bon mots laced with reflections on life, death and everything else. The only thing I could fault the film for, if I wanted to, would probably be the cliff scene. However, I don't want to. (08/03/2012)

When a film from this environment and with this theme holds together thanks only to the charisma of the lead actor, something is wrong. We cannot admire Alaska here because it is always either dark or snowed out (less cost for the filmmakers due to studio shooting this way). Nor can we enjoy Joe Carnahan’s camerawork. This did not necessarily have to be a reproach if the film worked as the riveting, dark survival drama that it was supposed to be, but which it is not because of its screenplay. The characters are uninteresting (if the plane crash was survived only by Liam Neeson, the movie would’ve only benefited from it), the dialogue scenes are no good, and there are zero innovative ideas that would contribute to the subgenre. You will not be bored, because sometimes horrifying (digital) wolves appear, but I give it a weak three stars only thanks to Neeson. (05/03/2012)

"Fuck it. I’ll do it myself." Snow, dogs, despair, fear, death. The Grey isn’t a classic survival thriller, the central theme is too profound and thoughtful. A pretty depressing central theme, by the way. A “life’s a bitch" central theme. The journey south with the survivors of the air crash is just something extra, for fun. Tense fun. Breathtaking and chilling scenes full of fear alternated with excellent action scenes. To add to things, we have the awesome Liam Neeson who tramples all competition. The gang with the snappy lines that are with him are just added spice. Each death in the movie is powerful, each is different. Carnahan has made a complete turnabout since his last movies and it’s a damn good one. P.S.: Wait for the post-credits scene. I got a book. It's called: "We're all fucked". It’s a bestseller. (09/03/2012)

After the mixed reviews (very well received by American critics and IMBD users, but considerably worse on Filmbooster; the action trailers are apparently misleading), I forgot my expectations of a tense action survival movie and went to the cinema with an open mind, ready for anything and willing to let Carnahan to please me as he saw fit. Unfortunately, mate, you didn’t make me very happy. Technically speaking, The Grey is gorgeous, but the script grinds and can’t decide what the prevailing theme will be: horror atmosphere, brutal attacks by wolves, blokeish adventure survival, a study of relationships between castaways, a philosophical analysis of the desire to fight and live… In the end it’s about everything and nothing. As a parable, it does work somehow, but otherwise, I have mixed feelings about it. In order to overcome all those little things that bothered me, that “effective” parable would have to be much sharper. Disappointment and 6/10. PS: This film has grown on me after some time, I might give it another chance. (09/03/2012)

Demonized CGI wolves in a movie that can’t decide if it wants to be a snowy, melancholic existential affair about coming to terms with loss or an uncompromising movie about survival with rather over-the-top scenes saying something like “Liam Neeson is the new MacGyver/Bear Grylls/Chuck Norris". Both approaches work well alone, but they clash with each other too much in this picture. And that’s a shame. (12/03/2012)