Now, on this day of Guillermo del Toro sightings, I also happened to see a movie. They were really hyping this movie over the last few days as having a performance by Liam Neeson that was so good, that plans are already being made to re-release the film in October for a possible Oscar qualifying run (quick shout out to thesubstream.com, where I now contribute movie news).
I do have to say that Liam Neeson’s performance was indeed quite good and, quite honestly, it was the best thing about this movie. The Grey is a slow and somber film about surviving in the Alaskan wilderness. Much of the movie was spent with the characters sitting around a fire talking, when they are not avoiding being eaten by a pack of wolves.
I’m probably not as disappointed as some by the lack of man vs wolf action promised in the trailer. However, there’s another movie about surviving in the Alaskan wilderness, 1997’s The Edge, which does it in a much more interesting way. True the film did have plenty man vs bear action, but it also had some quieter moments, with most of the film being built around the performances of Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.
Part of me wishes that The Grey was a bit more like The Edge, since there wasn’t too much in this film to hold my attention. Liam Neeson was the only one who had semi-decent character development, with the rest of the survivors being more or less wolf fodder.
I will say one thing. I probably would have liked the film more if the story lasted maybe 5-10 minutes longer. Overall, I don’t really think it’s a bad film, but it’s not really a memorable one.
7/10
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