Photo: Chris White

I’m a big fan of Liam Neeson, so I thought his new film, The Grey, would be a good one. It definitely was but it had a few drawbacks.

What To Know

Stars: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, and Frank Grillo

Director: Joe Carnahan

Writers: Joe Carnahan and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers

Rating: R for violence, disturbing content, and pervasive language. Parents Guide

Plot: Based on the short story, “Ghost Walker,” an oil drilling team in Alaska struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting them are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders. 

My Review: Overall, I liked the movie. It keeps you on the edge of your seat throughtout because you never really know when the wolves will attack. Liam Neeson and his fellow actors give great performances throughout the film and the creative team does a tremendous job with the writing, special effects, etc. 

The end is very interesting as (SPOILER ALERT!) Liam Neeson’s character finds himself in the wolves’ den after thinking he was getting further away from it. As you’ll see below, The Grey could’ve had a lot less language in it but I kind of knew that would be a theme of the movie due to its rating.

Family Friendly? Well, it’s kind of obvious that I would say “no” to this question because it’s rated R. Where do I begin? First off, all of the main characters curse like sailors – actually I think even worse than sailors. I think I heard every curse word in the book at least once in the film. Not only that, but there are numerous lewd comments from a couple of the characters. 

When you make a movie about a plane crash and wolves attacking humans, you know there’s going to be a lot of violence and blood. For instance, we see multiple scenes where the wolves attack the men, one man severing the head of a wolf after they kill it, and even some gushing blood from wounds.

Should You See It? If you’re in the mood for a story of survival that will, honestly, leave you kind of depressed at the end then I would recommend it. The Grey is definitely not for the faint of heart and the language is just as brutal as the violent portions of the film.  

I Give It A: D+

Check Out The Trailer Here