Trailer Tuesday: The Grey

I loves me a grim tale of survival against the odds, where Nature (in Supreme Bitch mode) ups the stakes by slathering on the vindictiveness in an already harsh setting. So count me keen for intense adventure-drama The Grey.


The Grey comes from the same creative team responsible for last year's A-Team movie, including director Joe (Smokin' Aces) Carnahan, and producer brothers and veteran filmmakers Ridley and Tony Scott. Hell, they even got their A-Team leading man Liam Neeson back to headline this tale of oil-rig workers whose plane crashes during a snow storm in the remote Alaskan wilderness. Not only do the men have to contend with injuries, the icy elements and each other as they stagger back to civilisation, but there's an ever more terrifying threat - a pack of starving grey wolves have identified the men as easy prey.

Now admittedly The Grey is being released during Hollywood's notorious "dumping" period of January and February. However, the film is a relatively low budget affair that doesn't come from a major studio, so a debut during a quiet, non-competitive period at the box office may be to the The Grey's advantage - given that's unlikely to have a massive marketing push. And besides, having now watched the teaser trailer, I have to ask "What's not to like about this one?"


For one thing, The Grey is reminds me strongly of The Edge, in which Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin are stranded in the frozen wild after a plane crash, and become involved in a do-or-die battle with each other - and a ferocious grizzly bear.

Secondly, Liam Neeson has become my favourite unexpected action hero after the likes of Taken and Unknown. The soft-spoken Irishman seems to have inherited the mantle from Harrison Ford, who played much the same type of character in the late 80s through mid-90s - an amiable everyman capable of some serious badassery when pushed to his limits. And what's more badass than strapping broken bottles to your frostbitten knuckles to go toe-to-toe with a wolf? The Grey may include Dermot Mulroney and Joe Anderson in its supporting cast, but don't be fooled. The film is going to be pretty much a one man show.

The Grey opens on 27 January 2012 in North America. The film's South African release date has yet to be announced.