'The Grey' Review (2012)
Man vs. nature vs. himself vs. a two hour running time
Photo: Open Road Films
A group of oil rig workers are leaving the Alaskan refinery they've called home for the last five weeks and heading back to Anchorage to family and friends for a much-deserved break when the unthinkable happens. A severe storm sends their plane crashing into the frozen wilderness. Eight survivors of said plane crash will now struggle to stay alive amidst the freezing elements while being hunted by a pack of angry wolves protecting their territory.
Directed by Joe Carnahan (NARC, Smokin' Aces), The Grey is a lean, down-in-the-dirt low budget production that appears to battle just as hard to tell its story as the men at the center of it. For most of its nearly two-hour running time the story remains taut and compelling, but it does run a bit long in a mildly strained grab at sentimentality as it may have been better off with one or two fewer survivors and a dismissal of the flashbacks.
The cast includes Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, Joe Anderson, Nonso Anozie and Frank Grillo. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"The Grey" is a Open Road Films release, directed by Joe Carnahan and is rated R for violence/disturbing content including bloody images, and for pervasive language. The running time is 1 hour 57 minutes.
This, naturally, has already sparked controversy and it doesn't help that Carnahan requested four dead wolf carcasses for the shoot from a British Columbia trapper — two for the crew to eat and another two as props. Like I insinuated above, this is a film with claws and it takes the roughneck appearance of its protagonists and applies it to damn near every aspect of the production as it becomes Mission: Impossible – Snow Survival.
No matter where this group turns a new obstacle faces them, be it a pack of glowing eyes and fading cold breath in the dark or the absurd decision to jump off a cliff in hopes of grabbing a tree branch before falling hundreds of feet to the ground. I'm pretty sure not even Ethan Hunt would try most of what happens here, but this, however, isn't reality. This is the movies, where we are asked to focus on circumstance and overlook logic and a series of contrivances that lead the story on its merry way. So be it, but at some point you have to get on with it.
As a viewer, about midway through I became less interested in the story and more focused on how the film was made as Carnahan seemed to stretch his $34 million budget to the limit. The plane crash and much of the hand-to-hand combat with the wolves (yes, hand-to-hand combat with the wolves) was especially impressive as quick cutting and limited resources seem to have caused Carnahan, his actors and cinematographer (Masanobu Takayanagi) to come up with imaginative ways to make things intense without the necessary resources to show us too much.
Walking away I couldn't help but be torn. For as hard as Carnahan and crew fought to make an intense survival thriller, they fought equally hard to make the audience care about the characters to the point there's almost too much information. Fireside conversations, back-story and flashbacks became more of a nuisance than anything else. It was like the film was on permanent life support and didn't need to be. The Grey is a two hour movie that only needed to be 90 minutes.
I appreciate the attempts at character development and all of it is done very well, but there comes a time when you have to decide whether we are going to get to know these guys or do battle with a pack of blood-thirsty wolves. It plays like a film that was originally designed to be a survival feature, but then a bunch of sentimentality was injected to give it a bit more heart. As a result it all becomes a bit redundant as we spend a few minutes learning about each guy and then a few minutes fighting wolves or jumping off cliffs. Something has to go.
Among the survivors joining Neeson, it's a mixed bag of personalities. Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson, Nonso Anozie, Ben Bray and James Badge Dale all play their part as weathered and on-edge members of the cast. Each brings their own little piece of character to the story and all deliver solid performances even though a couple could have been removed from the plot so as to quicken the pace. I can understand Carnahan enjoyed the performances each of them gave, but sometimes you have to lose a decent scene to make for a better movie.
I was looking through my notes while writing this review and one stood out where I wrote, "Gotta know when to say when." Flashbacks eventually lead to poetry as the jagged stops and starts in the story began to wear me down. I never lost complete interest as each scene is very well done in and of itself, but it all goes on for too long, tending to repeat itself too often for it to have the overall effect it should have had.
I enjoyed The Grey and think it's worth watching for its "life vs. death" message and some harrowing and intense moments, but it's a bit frustrating when you know it could have been so much better.
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In my opinion this film is much better than you give it credit for. There's actually a much bigger meaning overall in the story than advertised. 8.5 out of 10 from me.
Completely agree with you.
I just saw it, and it was way better then I thought it would be.
great ending
I've liked Carnahan's work since NARC and I like seeing Neeson star in action or thriller movies so i'll definately be seeing this.
Awwww…groan. All I see is another Big Bad Wolf story, sorry can't be bothered. I know there is a larger overall storyline going on here, but I just can't stomach watching wolves playing bad-guys yet again. Isn't it amazing how Naturalists, Filmmakers, Scientists, hikers and campers can walk into the forest among wolves and return unharmed. But let an actor or actors find themselves in the wilderness and it's like someone rang the wolf's dinner bell. LOL LOL All I can figure is that actors taste better, or maybe wolves are the ultimate movie critics.
i'm not surprised you gave this movie a C+. I've rarely agreed with your reviews…
LouAnn the film explains within 10 minutes why the wolves are attacking them. Think its very unfair to criticize a film without seeing it, and especially based on this review. Yes it is long, but the fact that there is character development is seen as a GOOD thing,. Would people care about what happens if we didn't know some of the back story? No. Think this review is overly harsh on a surprisingly enjoyable movie.
The Grey would have been better had the men's attempts at survival not been so badly thought out… in the end it just seemed to unrealistic and contrived.
I liked the part where Liam found some gloves and got his hands warm.
Well I saw it 30 minutes a go , so I can say that ending is good but it's a mix of that lion movies called ghost and darkness and mixture of survival GUIs kind of movies , too much swearing words , well they could have shown why the wolves were angry in detail but over all good attempt