A couple days ago I got a chance to watch a screener DVD of The Grey, which comes out in theaters in a couple weeks, and I've got to say it was a pretty great movie. Has anybody else here managed to see it yet?
Not yet, but looks decent. Kinda just looks like it is a simplistic movie though. I'm hoping for more than just...plane crash, Jedi vs wolves. Still may check it out though.
The payoff is the second half of the movie, when the characters have grown on you. The cinematography was also pretty nice, and as usual Liam Neeson plays a total badass.
Ultimately, I was left disappointed with this one for a few reasons. Liam was strong, but probably a little too strong (but, was probably supposed to the echo the Alpha male of the wolf pack). spoilers.... I thought the movie just grasped a little too much with the jump off the cliff into the trees, and wouldn't you know somehow the wolves were already there waiting... I can suspend belief, but c'mon. Another open ending.... That's been played out to death... yeah, I know the scene after the credits is supposed to suggest some things, but even that was open. I won't get into taping bottles to your hands to fight a wolf... :facepalm
They had a throwaway line that explained the wolves being over-aggressive, but it was unrealistic. As was the bottle-taping, but dramatically speaking it was cool.
I've never been hunted by a wolf pack, so it's hard for me to say. The size of the animals seemed to vary considerably from shot to shot.
I really dug it except for the ******* behind me that kept explaining things with his dad, and the four dick heads in front of us that kept laughing at parts that put a smile on your face at most, not cackling like a hyena.
spoiler: I hated the ending. John should have survived instead of getting into a boxing match with the wolf. What happened after the credits? I thought about staying but didn't.
Apparently the credit scene was Liam still alive resting on top of the dying alpha wolf. It wasn't clear if Liam was injured/dying...
I like what I've read. However, I don't like unresolved, open endings to movies. I don't know if I'll go see it. I read the entire movie here: The Movie Spoiler
I don't mind open endings... I just didn't like this movie much. It lost me for a few reasons... Killing of all the supporting characters. The one character opting to stay behind... and apparently a strong willed character despite an injury. The death defying leap from the cliff into the trees. Taping little, tiny broken bottles and a knife into your hands to battle a wolf. C'mon... even the knife would have issues getting in there with fur and skin - not mention a large, vicious wolf attacking you. But, the big one: The wolves at the the base of the cliff, apparently waiting for the survivors. I can suspend belief, I like movies with 'leaps of faith,' and huge plot holes, loops, twists, fate, kismet, coincidence and what have you... but, I was already on the fence due to the unlikable characters, despite going in wanting to like this movie.
...on the other hand, I just saw Man on a Ledge and while not stunningly original, was a very solid, fast passed action flick and worked pretty well for me. Yeah, uber-unbelievable... but fun (which The Grey seemed to miss). I went to The Grey Friday because based on reviews it was the stronger of the two flicks. In fact, the reviews had me to the point where I pretty much wrote off and wasn't going to see Man on a Ledge and that The Grey was that much more a better film. I liked Man on a Ledge considerably more than The Grey. Maybe it was because I went in with lower expectations? I don't care much for Sam Worthington (and dig Liam Neeson quite a bit), I do like Elizabeth Banks but I'm so accustomed to her in comedic roles that her seriousness in this almost took me out of the movie... but I got over that.
i thought the open ended worked PERFECTLY..... it dosent matter if he wins or loses..... and yes. using a knife and broken bottles to fight off wolves isnt very effective...... but if thats ALL you had..... you damned well better use them.... this isnt a story about wolves, its a story about a man who has no will to live, struggling to find a reason, and in the end, regaining the will to live, even when life is ****ting on him.
I figured they would have to put some comment as to how the wolves hunting people would be unusual behaviour. I'm still intrigued to see it. Wolf
Not to get off subject to much but I love that site been using it for years. I though the movie was just meh, and like others I didnt stay for the last scene, but after reading about it Im glad it was in there.
I'm a big fan of Liam, and I plan on seeing this film soon. I see that the main gripe that some of you had with the movie was how unrealistic it was at points. Personally, I don't mind a bit of unrealism in movies. I have to deal with the real world every day, I watch films to get away from that. Plus, if all movies were 100% realistic, they'd probably wouldn't be much fun to watch. I seriously doubt anyone is going to go see The Grey and take notes on "what to do if hunted by a pack of overly aggressive wolves". My question is, was it a fun film? Entertaining? Yes, some movies are TOO unrealistic, to the point of being ridiculous (Like that Vin Diesel flick XXX), but I don't think a little bit of fantasy ever hurt.
I think the main reason I didn't care for the movie was that the characterization seemed forced. I didn't really come to care about any of the characters and at least one of them made a decision that seemed to counter all the characterization we had seen up to that point (when Diaz opted to stay behind), maybe it was poor story telling when he didn't seem that injured to me - or maybe the point was that he just gave up... either way, I didn't buy it. There were just too many points that didn't add up for me... the main thing's that basically made me not care for the flick were the characters (forced and not really a likeable one in the bunch), the wolves who can apparently jump/transport themselves down a cliff and the ending. I wanted to like this movie. I still don't see it as a terrible flick, Liam was fairly (and predictbly) strong... I also thought we were robbed of a plane crash, too. :lol Maybe in the end, it tried too hard? They did something right (marketing?)... it's the #1 flick in the US - which is cool to see Liam getting some respectability in that fashion.
Apparently, this is how the script ended: Ottway fights the large alpha male while the others wolves watch, he finally kills the alpha and the other wolves slink off fighting amongst each other to determine the new alpha. In the script Diaz had a GPS locator watch that Ottway took when he died. No one thought it would work. He was always challenging Ottway, the human alpha and believed the GPS watch would save them. After defeating the wolf, Ottway passes out. He is rescued as a result of the watch. He wakes in the hospital to find his wife who places his hand on her pregnant belly. Ottway's wife is still alive. (Stolen from AICN)
i LOVED the fade to black.. and im glad it didnt actually show the fight. i think it makes for a better ending.
when you really don't care about the characters and the wolves looked comic book, you've got a bad movie. It sucked!
As someone who likes wolves more than people I think i'll pass as it sounds like they made the wolves out to be way more dangerous than they are.
Yeah, I thought it was worth seeing. You gotta love Neeson, he's such a badass. That dude is gonna be 60 this year! It was nicely produced and directed, but (for me) was missing that special something. I do wish I would've stayed after the credits! Spoilers.... I think that ending from the script (via AICN) sounded good, except for the pregnant wife. That's a little too sweet. I understand why they chose the ending they did. The whole idea of the movie was the despair in probably not making it out alive and the struggle with that emptiness especially with little to no faith. A real upper
Really enjoyed the film. It was better (and way more tense) then I expected. I was thinking something more the The Edge, this was way more about being hunted then element survival. Great Job by all the actors, and I loved the ending.:thumbsup
Saw it,didn't see the part past the credits,but I will say this:NOT a movie to go see if you wanna fee good! And I have to agree,even though I'm a hunter,that the wolves were a bit too aggressive in real life you'd have to maybe kill one or two and they'd bug off like the devil was after them with gas and matches.
Saw it and thought it was just "meh". I liked Liam's character and grew to like John as the movie progressed, but the prolific use of the F-bomb was a turnoff. It's not that I mind the word if it adds something to the dialogue, but when it's used in almost every sentence I take issue it it. I get the fact the movie had oil workers in it, but come on. Also, how the hell did Liam not freeze to death after being completely soaked in the river?
Don't worry about it, the folks here complain about every movie (unless it is made by Nolan - then it can only be great) :rolleyes Although I did not stay for the credits and still loved the ending, it is nice to know that final scene was there - wish I would have seen that.
I just saw it with my buddy, and I liked it. Anyone else feel grateful to be alive, and not stranded miles upon miles from your loved ones? I went home and immediately kissed my wife.... Which I do all the time anyway.
Hope that ending scene spoke about with Neeson winning will be on the DVD extras.. However I have to disagree with the majority I thought the film was excellent and refreshing. I missed the scene at the end of the credits and I watched it on youtube and it made the ending make sense.
I did enjoy it but didn't like some things- the wolves were almost 'magic' wolves or something. Almost came off like robots or aliens or something. And the men were walking through the knee deep snow- until they had to run and then they had no problem with it. Pretty inconsistant. The scenery was beautiful and we we freezing the whole time from watching how cold the characters were- it really made us feel the snow. I would have hated to be on the shoot- Liam in the water was just painful to watch- he must have been so cold! Brian
I kept thinking that WY on Talget's hat was an early Weyland Yutanni reference , as the film had kind of an 'alien in the artic' feel.
Saw it last night. Liked it a lot....and I love wolves. Editing and cinematography were top notch. Acting was great as each character was fully developed in the ensemble...I credit the actors here as they didn't all have lots of lines. they used them well. Barely any CGI was a great thing. Real wolves and puppets worked very well, imo. to me it played great as an ultimately simple survivalist tale with some complicated undertones. definitely bleak.
Good discussion. Saw this a few weeks ago. I would have liked to have seen a little more exposition with Ottway, as far as the flashback with his wife. Here's a scene I would have liked to have seen: EXT. SNOWBANK - AFTERNOON A dreary landscape awaits the remaining three men. A river, clear and cold, slushes nearby. The rush of the river SPLASHES on the rocks nearby. DIAZ collapses near a large, dead tree trunk. He cradles his injured arm as OTTWAY and HENDRICK stop to observe him. Skipping past all of the stuff about Diaz deciding to stay where he is. DIAZ (quietly) I can't go on, man. I'm done. OTTWAY You can do it. This isn't the end. DIAZ (breathes quietly) How do you know? Why do you keep going? You tell me. HENDRICK turns to watch from a distance away. OTTWAY leans in close. OTTWAY How do I know? I don't know, okay? I don't know if there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know. DIAZ is holding is gut as he looks up at OTTWAY. DIAZ stares hard at OTTWAY. DIAZ Don't you have a wife to go back to, man? I'm sure you have a whole house of brats. OTTWAY (apologetically) No. She... OTTWAY trails off momentarily, before refocusing his gaze on DIAZ. OTTWAY I don't know if we're going to die tonight. Or tomorrow morning. I don't know if the rescue's coming. There's no black or white at the end of the tunnel. There hasn't been for a while. Don't you get it? It's just grey. It's all just grey. Hmm. (The formatting didn't stick through the post, for some reason.) Andy
I went to see this movie about 2 weeks ago without any expectations and gave in, sat back and just enjoyed it as is. It was dark, full of unlikeable characters, but I liked how Liam's character pushes on to fight to live again when he (before the crash) had nearly given up on life. Luckily, I stayed for the credits as I sometimes do, since I like seeing who worked on it and what locations were used. I was pleasantly suprised by the reveal ending that popped up, and it did tie up the story well in my opinion.
It has wolves attacking humans, so not realistic at all. My wife volunteers in a wildlife educations center. They have two grey wolves and an Arctic wolf. Wolves do NOT attack humans, unless: 1). They are protecting their young. 2). They are rabid (or otherwise out of their normal frame of mind). 3). They have had absolutely NO other source of food for weeks on end. Movies like this are what support the myths that then allow people to hunt wolves from helicopters, etc. It's a bunch of ignorant, untrue beliefs about the animal.
