“The Grey” is packed with everything you could ask for: excitement, symbolism, good acting and a superb ending.
John Ottway (Liam Neeson) delivers once again with this film.
There are other actors who play their roles well in this movie, but no one stands out like Neeson does.
At the age of 59, there are no signs of slowing down for Neeson. After two successful star roles in “Taken” and “Unknown,” he possibly shines better than he has in any film in a while.
There is a lot of symbolism in this movie, and it all plays really well.
In the beginning, Ottway plans to commit suicide and even has written a letter to his wife, but just as he is about to shoot himself, he hears wolves and changes his mind.
Ottway then plans a trip home with other people, but the plane cannot withstand the bad weather and it ends up crashing.
Upon the crash is where viewers can tell Ottway will be the main focus of the film; he really stands out as the people person throughout the entire movie.
The movie hits a point that is slow for a while. Its focus remains to not stay in one place because while they will be searching for them Ottway convinces his crew that they should keep moving.
There is tension starting to build within the group as people start to have doubt that they will get out of this situation alive. As the movie goes on, people start to pass away one by one. Everything from wolf attacks, to freezing to death or injuries from the plane crash cause people to keep passing away.
The brilliance within the film really starts to stand out in the end.
After each death within the group, Ottway collects the victim’s wallet. He vowed in the beginning of the movie that he would return the wallets to their families as something of a memory.
Ottway continues to have flashbacks throughout the film about his wife who passed away, and near the end of the film, even about his children.
While the trailer might show a lot of action, this movie is not an action packed movie, so don’t be fooled. It plays out a lot better that way, because it makes you wonder what you would do if you were in their situation.
Some people might think the movie drags a bit, but you really have to pay attention to the content of the movie. Near the end of the movie Ottway is the only one left as all the people have died on their voyage.
Ottway stops to put all their wallets down as a sort of burial, but as he does so he is surrounded by wolves. Readers will have to see the movie for themselves to discover the ending.
I have not seen a movie in some time that makes you think about life in general, but symbolism and real life situations will have you on the edge of your seat for “The Grey.”
