Pitchforks: 4.5/5
Starring: Liam Neeson
Rating: R
Released: Jan. 27
No one likes getting older, but it’s something everyone inevitably faces. Our minds begin to wander and our bodies begin to fail us. For Liam Neeson, however, getting older has never looked like so much fun.
To date, the 59-year-old actor has single-handedly taken down an international sex ring, released the Kraken and trained and fought against Batman. Now, in the recently released “The Grey,” Neeson takes on a pack of bloodthirsty wolves.
Set in the wintery, wild and unforgiving Alaskan terrain, writer and director Joe Carnahan delivers one of the best thrillers of our time and, arguably, his best. In the time-honored tradition of fast-paced, captivating, edge-of-your-seat suspense, “The Grey” does not skip a beat.
Hired to protect oil workers establishing new drill sites, the sharpshooter Ottway (Neeson) defends the workers from the more wild elements of nature, namely wolves. Stephen Colbert might be scared of bears, but wolves have one-upped them in this film.
But when the worker's plane goes down on their way to the far-off fringes of the continent in the middle of a storm, the survivors must come together to get out of harms way — or die. If the blistering cold wasn’t enough, limited food, water and time haunt them at every turn. Not to mention, wolves are running around them all of the time.
The intensity and ferociousness of the wolves is unparalleled to any other recent boogieman character. Carnahan keeps the pack just far enough away from the audience so that when its time to strike, the whole theater feels it.
The film is not only limited to gore. Neeson and the other cast members convincingly capture each of their roles, and give the audience a reason to stay and cheer them home.
Alas, as with any perilous journey, it is not always a happy ending for everyone involved. Life is a rarity and, in the most primal sense of the word, “The Grey” paints a brilliant picture of the frailty between life and death, along with the battle between man and nature.
Chuck Norris used up his 15 minutes of fame and now some consideration needs to be given to Neeson as an heir to the throne of “taking care of business.”
In light of all the Armageddon-zombie-esque survival and preparation trends these days, “The Grey” serves as excellent material on how to tango one last time with the alpha and how to “live or die on this day.”
Reach the reporter at jbfortne@asu.edu
Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
