The Grey screened in LA last night and we’ve got a report!

Normally I don’t like running test screening reviews. We get a lot of people sending them in but I don’t see much purpose in running them. But when we got word from last night’s test screening of THE GREY – you know, the rad Liam Neeson vs. wolf that promises Liam Neeson boxing a wolf with broken glass knuckles? – I felt like I had to share. Why? Because Liam Neeson never boxes a wolf with broken glass knuckles in the film.

The who to the what now?

According to JoBlo.com reader George Gafadino, it’s true. That money shot in the trailer that got everyone excited, leads to nothing. Another shameful example of misleading marketing. But does that tarnish the film? I’ll let George explain… [NOTE: Some MAJOR SPOILERS lie ahead.]

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Just wanted to drop you guys a line and share my reaction
to Joe Carnahan’s THE GREY. First off, this is easily Joe Carnahan’s best film. I’ve seen all
his work in theaters but nothing grabbed me like this. I’ll
admit, it was the idea of Liam Neeson battling wolves that
got me initially hooked, and that’s actually the film’s only
HUGE problem, but more on that in a bit.

What impressed me was the level of depth that (some) of
the characters get. This could’ve very easily been a B movie
slasher flick with a killer picking them off one by one type
thing but it’s not. It’s not as elevated as ALIEN in that sense
but it’s close. You feel for Neeson and most of his crew through-
-out the picture and they all get their moment to shine with a
heartfelt scene (or two).

One character, who I thought was surely going to die soon
because he started off as a foil to Neeson’s character and the
others, actually has a great arc and you end up rooting for him
by the end. There are some real heartbreaking moments the
characters get that made me tear up more than once. It’s a
welcome surprise by how good those moments are pulled off.

The plane crash. Bitchin’. About as effective as the crash in
CASTAWAY. When it was over, the audience applauded.

The wolves. Excellent. Scary as hell. A few genuine “holy shit”
jump moments. Carnahan makes them very effective by showing
them at a minimun ala JAWS or ALIEN and they are aided by an
excellent sound design that moves them beyond wolves as
animals and more like wolves as monsters (in a good way). Even
if some of the CG is a touch… CG, you’re still scared for the
characters to survive them.

Liam Neeson. Buzz was that he could get an Oscar nod for this
and he damn well should. Most of the movie he’s playing the
good ol’ reliable Liam Neeson we know and love, but towards
the end as the walls close in, holy shit, he brings it. There’s one
scene in particular where all seems lost where he just loses it
emotionally that brought me to tears. It’s so raw and true, it
just rocks. I don’t want to spoil much but when that moment
happened, THAT’S where I said to myself “he should get nominated
for this”.

The one nagging problem. He doesn’t fight the wolf with glass knuckles.

At all.

At least not in this cut.

EVERYTHING up to that point works and then… it’s over. Carnahan
is trying to say “It doesn’t matter if we see him fight the wolf, he’s
at peace with himself and his fate and that’s enough, emotionally.”
But it’s not. The way the film is being marketed, the trailer, the poster.
It’s making it look like a NEESON VS. WOLF showdown type thing.
And I want to see that! And I bet you do too! I admire Carnahan for
trying something ballsy like that, but it’s not about going against
expectations. It’s a major emotional set up with a half pay off.

But I stress, everything else in this movie rocks. I really, really loved
it. It just needs an ending. I pray Carnahan is able to get Neeson back
and shoot the fight that WE’RE ALL promised. Not just because it’s
in the marketing or for commercial reasons or because the good guy
has to fight the bad guy in the third act etc… it’s because the story
calls for it. It sets it up through out the film. Watching, you expect it.
And you don’t get it. It needs to be there.

If Carnahan puts in a final confrontation with the wolf that is emotionally
satisfying, this could easily be one of, if not the best “Man Vs Nature”
films ever made.