Chilling Like its Setting; Marauding Like its Wolves: "The Grey"

If the story involves relationship between man and nature, then I would assume, something interesting is going to happen. Like the success of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'; and 'War Horse', The Grey becomes one of those films which comes striking that it masquerades its flaws.

Liam Neeson is Ottway, a hunter that keeps marauding and wild animals off an Alaska. He steps on a plane alongside his colleagues on their way home, until a vast storm of ice spits out their plane and strands them to a wilderness of wild grey wolves.

Once the plane crashes and the bunch strands, a sweeping permafrost setting is going to strike your eyes. An Alaskan setting would be stunning as it is, however, working behind the camera, Joe Carnahan,  spices up the fear by adding the wolf, and slowly revealing personal fears of individual characters. Carnahan manages to highlight each that eases to attach characters to the storyline. The makers of the movie, steps out of the cartoonish zone and decides to use trained wolves and man-under-wolf-skin talents that clearly transforms the film into one believable piece. The Grey starts as an ambitious horror/adventure/action, until we get to see the grappling of the wolves on our characters one by one. The wolves seemed to be too slow, knowing that grey wolves are naturally of great speed. The only downward slope is the action that looked ultimately dumb in some scenes. With that and the script, the actors come to salvage. Each presents a portrait of a different character that are easy to attach too. Sometimes, the creation of characters began to feel shrewder than the script itself.

The Grey will grip you, chill your guts, and tug your hearts. While the characters races to the finish line that 'survival' is the 'trophy'; the characters also present a platter of grace of accepting your 'fate' at peace. 'The Grey' is chilling like it's setting, and marauding like its wolves. 3.5 stars.