RBR: The Grey

Speaking of Liam Neeson, he pops up in this thriller from earlier this year to again prove himself to be the most unlikely action hero perhaps in the history of film. I mean, who seriously predicted this would be the go-to guy for the bad-ass in action flicks? And yet, once more we see him as the best thing in an otherwise mediocre film. The setup here is that he along with six oil workers survive a plane crash in Alaska and then must work together to find rescue before being killed by omnipresent wolves. Director Joe Carnahan does a nice job with each scene featuring the wolves making them suitably terrifying with a few surprising scares that you don't necessarily anticipate. What doesn't work though is the inevitablilty of the plot as we see these survivors get picked off one by one until we arrive at the expected showdown. The film also decides to adopt a philosophical preachiness to the narrative which I didn't find to be needed and/or effective. Still, Neeson gives another strong performance and the atmospheric feel of the film sucks you in, causing you to fear for your own life at times. This is a mixed bag that earns a mild recommendation from me. Rating: *** 1/2