The Grey (on Netflix)

Wolves don't act that way - they are not intelligent enough to act that way. Sure they'll attack if starving, but they are personified as if they can understand human speech and actions.

Synopsis: Oil workers led by Ottway (Liam Neeson) must survive in the arctic wilderness, dodge ravenous wolves and try to make it out alive.

Liam Neeson - As the lead character, he does make a strong leader. Many people make fun of his monotone, but he's about as monotone as Nicolas Cage. His expression may not vary as much as, say Jim Carrey or Robin Williams, but he is a different type of actor. He does do the blank face quite well, though and that's probably more of a problem than his lack of tonality in his voice. Still, he is able to carry the movie as well as seem trustworthy and caring. It seems there is a theme to his characters - they are father figures or leaders, and they usually (but not always) die. As mentioned before, he does not die in the movie. Here he's the leader, the alpha to parallel the alpha for the wolves. There really isn't to much to his character or any of the characters, really. They could all just be called "Some Guy 1-7".

The rest of the characters slowly develop as they get picked off by the wolves. The longer they stay alive, the more the audience gets to know them. However, they never call each other by name, and if they do, it's very easy to miss. These characters who may or may not have names mentioned in the movie are static, flat characters. Most audience members will not care when they die.

The wolf pack is a character in itself. Yes, singular or mass noun, like money. The pack is ONE character made up of many parts. It has been anthropomorphized and personified in order to seem a more threatening and intelligent villain. Although the film makers make most of them puppets, they look like crap - like stuffed animals. The CGI wolves don't look any better. They are on the same level at the first version of the Twilight wolves. Again, wolves do not act this way, generally speaking. They would be hunting deer and small game, and if there's none of that around, why are they there? Also, the movie is open ended. Liam Neeson can continue his character death streak or he can live to see his family again.

Overall, the movie was a decent flick, a watch once sort of thing.

Grade: 2.5/5