*SPOILER ALERT*

     This weekend I watched The Grey which was directed by Joe Carnahan and starred Liam Neeson. I was not too impressed with the beginning due to the unorganized feel. It starts off with a brawl in a bar. This is where my confusion stemmed. When I read the movie description I was under the impression I was going to be watching a movie about man's survival against one of natures most deadliest creatures: wolves. However, when I started watching it, much to my dismay, it jumped around and took on a chaotic background. It switched from reality to flashbacks then back to reality. In the flashbacks Neeson  is laying with someone who i assume to be his wife (this is never truly answered so an assumption had to be made) and he talks about how he wants to see her again and hold her. Not until much later did I find out she was dying in those flashbacks. The importance of them can only be taken as his only remaining memory that keeps him going. Perhaps there is another, more significant reason to why she appears throughout the entire movie but, since the importance in never established, I guess there is no telling. I found the introduction hard to follow and, before I could even make sense of what was going on, I find that the main character is trying to kill himself. Not only did the first five minutes lack organization, but also left me feeling empty and with many questions unanswered. Why were they there? What was the point of the flashbacks? Was Neeson a prisoner or someone who worked there? Unfortunately no matter how many times I watch the movie I never get an answer to any of those questions. Fortunately, however, the movie becomes significantly better after the introduction. Aside from the intense and ever present use of cursing the story and action redeemed the poorly created intro. Once the plane crashes and survivors are accounted for I could sense, even from watching it, that there situation had become very real indeed. Neeson's character's down to earth attitude and expertise was well portrayed and the same could be said for his fellow actors. The scene that truly defined exactly what the unlikely team was up against was when Neeson spotted the first wolf feeding on the carcass of a dead passenger. The following scene was action packed and intense which left Neeson injured in his leg where the wolf shredded it. Every moment from then on out was filled to the brim with suspense as the true meaning of survival of the fittest wash incorporated into this movie. With wolves picking off stragglers and the men fighting for their lives the middle to the end of the movie is simply amazing. It was so well crafted and they way each victim died was different which really helped stifle monotony. Ending the movie the way Carnahan did left something, bit not a lot, to be desired. Because there was so much action and suspense during the movie I expected a grand finale between Neeson and the wolves. But no. There was no glory battle. It ends with Neeson facing the alpha wolf with a knife taped to one hand and broken bottles taped to the other. Carnahan leaves the end to our imagination which, I must say, did add a suspense effect. This movie was, overall, a great representation of man vs nature and I absolutely, at least after the beginning, loved watching this movie. A-