This is something that came from my original tumblr page. It is a review of the film "the Grey" starring Liam Neeson. It is the tale of several men whose plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. This review contains some spoilers, so if you have not seen the film, read on at your own peril. I hope that you enjoy this.
I just finished watching the film “The Grey.” I enjoyed it immensely, good story, good characters, even with the limited characterization. I liked the back story that they gave Liam Neeson’s character, the one that drove him through the whole film, the one that made him the “Alpha” of the survivors.
I had a couple problems with the film, well, one with the film, and one with the human nature depicted within.
The first issue I address is about the wolves in the film. It rang too much like a werewolf movie and not like a survival film. It had the elements of Man vs. Nature vs. Himself (which I love), but the wolves were given this dark malevolence that carried them through the movie. I enjoyed it either way, but I feel that it is skewed in some way to portray animals as though they are naught but savage beasts intent on killing us. I know that in the film they were not entirely portrayed as such, that they were defending their territory and were provoked, but it is a slippery slope, something like that.
To give animals the sense of menace and malevolence, to give them Human traits, is wrong. It makes for a good movie, but how many people are there who are small minded enough to believe it? The answer is a good many. I am no tree-hugger, nor am I an animal rights activist, but I feel that movies that personify animals should be dealt with carefully. After all, look at Jaws, the shark was personified, albeit amazingly (a screening was shown to marine biologists and they were rooting for the sharks death in the film) but countless people took the film too literally and decided that if it was on the screen then it must be real and we must take matters into our own hands.
Wolves are coming back from the endangered species list, indeed in many of their natural hunting grounds they are extinct (England, some parts of the U.S., I can’t speak for anywhere else) and I think that people should not be given the excuse to conduct mass slaughter.
On the other hand, I think that it shows how far we have come as a society that movies like this can be made and we do not have to worry ourselves that much on the sociological and ecological impact of said films.
My other issue with the film (which is personal and has no merit on how it should be judged) was the character Diaz. He was arguing and fighting much of the movie (spoiler alert) yet he decides to just lay down and die because the scenery is nice and he has nothing good to return to in civilization? I understand that some people could do that, but I do not see how that could happen, to give up and decide, willingly to die, and not even to starvation or hypothermia, but willingly decide to be attacked, mauled and eaten? That was the part of the film that really got underneath my skin, the fact that someone would stop fighting and lay down and wait to be collected like trash, to reduce themselves to the level of sheep or grass, to cease being a carnivore and become a meek willing sacrifice for absolutely no reason other than your own self-pity and weakness. but, it made for and excellent film, it did what it was supposed to do, it made you feel and connect.
Overall, the film was great. i think that they built it up nicely, they laid down the back story beautifully, the plot, the lead-up to the climax was paved wonderfully (though with bodies) and the finale was amazing. I think that was hands down the best part of the film, the build-up, the preparation for battle, those few quiet moments when you whisper words to yourself to bring forth your courage as you know that the bullets, or rockets or teeth are a bout to fly, some of them finding their way towards you. The last immortal words whispered on a breath of steam as you tense and stretch, reaching for a final glory before you depart the world for the beyond.
I feel that they did not need to add a scene after the credits. It was implied (heavily) that Ottoway was going to die. He had already lost his life, almost committed suicide. he was a broken man, a hard man, but broken. This was the dog’s last day, the last hurrah to show the world that he would die on his terms and on his feet, that he would not go quietly to that good night.
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