The Grey Is A Ferocious Man Vs Nature Movie

While there is an ample amount of wolf punching/slaying/shit talking in Liam Neeson's new flick "The Grey," the film is a lot more than it's simple (yet effective) marketing. This is a movie about what men do when faced with insurmountable odds and trauma. Simply put, who are we in the grand scope of nature? Or in the language of the Liam Neeson action audience: You think you could hang out in the wild with demonic wolves trying to eat you son?

Neeson, at the height of his dramatic and ass kicking powers in this flick, plays John Ottway, a lonesome man who works on an Alaska oil field shooting the wolves that get too close the workers. When the plane the oil workers crashes in the Alaskan tundra, the survivors must fight for their survival against the elements and the man eating wolves that are following their every move. Before I go deeper into why this movie is so fresh, let me just say, that if you have a phobia of flying, you're going to want to peace the hell out of the theater during the plane crash sequence. It's straight up terrifying. Realistic as hell, it's a stunning piece of filmmaking.

Stuck out in the wild, Ottway takes the leadership position amongst the survivors. He both helps dying men come to grips with their end moments, advises strategies for dealing with the fury fiends on their tale, and rapidly puts down mutinies by promising people, in his best "Taken" voice that they will be "swallowing a lot of blood if they fuck with him." Neeson plays the elite alpha male for the first two thirds of them and it's just as satisfying as you'd expect. It's just like his parts in "Batman Begins" or "Phantom Menance" just with more swearing and higher stakes.

But it's the final third of this movie where the movie really shines. The film succeeds at examining just what makes men so tough. Where do they draw their strength? From each other? From God? From some inner determination to survive? By the time the film's ambiguous ending comes snarling at you, every viewer may be examining these things themselves, and that is one of the film's strongest elements.

I wrote a post on Friday "The Grey" presents Neeson with an opportunity to evolve as an action star. I can happily report that he succeeds in doing this, not just because he can add wolves as something he has punched (in addition to jedis, albanians, and super-heroes) but because it adds a much needed level of humanity to his action star persona. Thanks to his thundering performance, he carries this movie to the levels of gritty survival tale you're hoping for, and then delivers even more! 

The Evolution of Liam Neeson

Have you seen "Taken?" If the answer is no, you need to get your priorities straight, seriously, easily one of the best movies ever made in the last 100,000 years. It's a premise as old as time, a retired spy/assassin/modern day ninja who no one appreciates, has to gain everyone appreciation by saving the princess, aka his daughter. 86 minutes! 10 minutes set up, 76 minutes of Neeson destroying Albanians in Paris. But in a sea of Statham movies, why does Neeson endure and appeal?

Back in 2009, I said it was because we wanted to see a calming presence take on the machine, the higher ups, a one percent warrior if you will.   And while that is still kind of true, I firmly believe that with Neeson's new movie "The Grey,"  Neeson is now evolving into the highest levels of ass kicker. It's well known that Neeson often plays God like figures in his roles. From "Schindler's List" to "The Phantom Menace" and even as the voice of Aslan in "The Chronicles of Narnia" he is the ultimate wise soothing protector. He is god to the mortals, the guiding light of good, the judger of men, and in some cases, the wrecker of men (only bad dudes though).

Which is why "The Grey" is the ultimate Neeson movie yet. No longer content with taking on humans, Neeson is jumping up a level and taking on Mother Nature itself. His new movie is man vs wild personified by Wolves and Weather , the ultimate test of one macho abilities. No longer content with almost saving an entire mediocre movie like "Unknown" with one line (" I didn't forget everything. I remember how to kill you, asshole. "), Neeson now has the opportunity to go to take his interesting career to the ultimate level....the beyond God level...and after that comes?


**I'm seeing the film on Saturday, tune back in on Monday for a review**

The Grey Trailer Is Born To Be Wild

Why hello there preview for a film I'm going to be relentlessly hyping for the next couple of months. Yes, this preview is correct: Liam Neeson fights wolves in the wild. I mean, how can you not be excited for this?

Neeson + Wolves = Sign Me Up

Taken: God's Revenge

"What I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you"

Liam Neeson has played Batman's mentor, a Jedi master, a brave lion, a savior to Jews, a noble crusading knight, and soon, he will be playing Abraham Lincoln. Simply put he plays wise noble men who have a massive impact on everyone they meet. He's wise, powerful, and commanding. So yes, he's pretty much God.

So if he is God, why are we going bananas over his new movie "Taken" where he goes across Europe killing the people who abducted his daughter? Is 21st Century's resident Diety a cool Morgan Freeman, or a badass gun-wielding father protecting his flock?

Based off the box office for the film, I'd go with the second option. In an age where Bernie Madoff types are walking away with our money and not getting punished, we want to see some type of equalizer. Some people want the courts to do it, and others just figure they'll eventually get what's coming to them. And I guess what's coming for them, is Neeson, the big boss man with the skill set.