Throughout his career spanning several decades, Liam Neeson has starred in a wide range of movies. Modern classics like Schindler’s List, Silence, and Batman Begins instantly come to mind. But in the niche of action movies – where Neeson has emerged as one of the genre’s most formidable stars – he has also portrayed memorable characters. Bryan Mills in Taken and Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace stand out, but is there a gruff hero more compelling than The Grey‘s John Ottway?
The Grey is famously a film that affected movie critic Roger Ebert so deeply that it caused him to walk out of his next screening. Although it features Neeson playing his usual badass persona, the film didn’t affect Ebert because of the violence. It was something else entirely.
‘The Grey’ Sees Liam Neeson Leading a Near-Perfect Survival Thriller
In The Grey, Neeson plays Ottway, a man who works in the wild protecting oil workers from wolves in a remote part of Alaska. During a flight the plane malfunctions and crashes in the wilderness. He survives the crash, but Ottway must find a way to stay alive when a pack of grey wolves starts surrounding him and stops at nothing to feed themselves.
The Grey was released in theaters in January 2012, which is typically a slow month at the box office. However, the film had a solid opening weekend of almost $20 million, and at the end of the theatrical run had grossed more than $81 million against a $25 million production budget. The critical reception was equally good, and the survival thriller still holds an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes – one of director Joe Carnahan and Neeson’s highest-rated projects. The film is based on Ian MacKenzie Jeffers’ short story “Ghost Walker.” Produced by Hollywood icon Ridley Scott, The Grey stars Nonso Anozie, James Badge Dale, Frank Grillo, and Dermot Mulroney, alongside Neeson.
Why Did ‘The Grey’ Affect Roger Ebert So Much?
One of the critics most disturbed by the movie, and one who was very vocal about it, was Roger Ebert. Even though he was able to sit through the entire movie, he wrote that when the credits rolled, he was so affected by what he had just seen that he left his next screening. “After The Grey was over, I watched the second film for 30 minutes and then got up and walked out of the theater,” the critic said in his glowing three-and-a-half-star review.
The reason why Ebert was struck by the movie appears to be the various sequences with the wolves. He continues in his review, saying, “There are more wolves than men. The men have weapons, the wolves have patience, the weather is punishing. I sat regarding the screen with mounting dread,” later adding that it “was the first time I’ve ever walked out of a film because of the previous film. The way I was feeling in my gut, it just wouldn’t have been fair to the next film.”
The survival action thriller is currently streaming for absolutely free on Pluto TV. However, those wanting to get a look at one of Neeson’s modern greats should hurry, as the film is due to leave the platform soon. How soon that is remains a question mark, as Pluto TV doesn’t reveal the dates when the catalog is refreshed. However, the most likely worst-case scenario is that it will stop streaming on July 1.
Release Date
January 26, 2012
Runtime
117 minutes
