The Grey

I will gladly forgive this movie that it had some crazy pig behind the camera, who turned every action sequence into a crazy mishmash of cluttered and mostly unnecessarily spectacular something that had very little in common with a well-edited movie… Unnecessarily, because I actually got almost nothing out of the action. On the other hand, I have to say that I had a feeling as if this movie didn’t even want to interest with the action, but rather with the scenery and the locations as such. Liam Neeson showed off again as an awesome guy, worn out by one life fuck up after another, and it looks like the last one is going to take him down. Anyway, the fight is awesome, the atmosphere is absolutely amazing and Liam is simply divine. In the end, maybe those three simple reasons are what made me give the film four stars. (13/05/2013)

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)

I didn't like all those dream scenes, they are inconsistent with the setting, and sometimes the too digital or too artificial wolves (like Gmork in The Neverending Story but at least he was scary). But I have no problem with it within this small survival subgenre. Well-layered characters, absence of pathos, excellent kill scenes, and above all, captivating atmosphere, mainly thanks to the brilliant sound design (the wolves in the forest, etc.). Some scenes (jumping over a chasm, or even the excellently and suggestively filmed airplane crash) are intense and have incredible balls, and the viewer feels like they are pushing their limits along with the main characters. Fortunately, they didn’t screw up the ending. (15/04/2012)

"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)

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)