Sneaky Weasel
2012-02-21, 06:29 PM
So I just saw the movie The Grey, with Liam Neeson. I'll say this up front: I thought it was great. However, there are a few points that make me a bit leery of it.
The basic plot is that a plane, transporting workers at an oil drill in Alaska, crashes into the tundra. Stranded in the cold, the seven survivors must make a plan to get back to civilization. However, a pack of wolves start stalking them, picking them off one by one.
The main beef I have with this movie is that it portrayed wolves as vicious, bloodthirsty killers. Of course, from the point of view of their victims this is what they are, but wolves as a species are far more complex than this. This was explained somewhat at the end:
The survivors are heading directly for the wolves den without knowing it, thus making the wolves attack to defend their territory.
But I still think it made them somewhat more vicious than they would be. I know this is a movie and they have to make it dramatic, but in my opinion the public doesn't need another source telling them that wolves are monsters.
That said, I thought the characters were excellent, the scenes of Alaskan wilderness were beautiful, and the death scenes(there are several) had a pathos that is rarely seen in movies these days. It seemed like there were actually people dying, and my disbelief was completely suspended. It pitted man against nature, and as always, nature brutally triumphs.
The thing that really made the movie for me was the ending.
John Ottway(Liam Neeson) is the only remaining survivor, and has stumbled into the very den of the wolves. The surround him, and he realizes that he is going to die. It is at this point that it is revealed that his wife is actually dead, and he has nothing left to live for. Reciting the poem of his father, he arms himself with a knife and some broken bottles taped to his fingers, and then charges the alpha wolf. And that's it, the movie ends. He obviously dies, but he dies fighting. I thought this was great, and the poem sends chills down my spine. After the credits roll, you see a shot of his head laying on the(presumably dead) alpha's stomach.
However, the thing that really makes me conflicted about this movie is that the filmmakers payed a trapper for four wolf carcasses, two to be used in shooting and two to be eaten by the cast. Eaten by the cast. As a believer in animal rights and a vegan, I have to say that this is completely unnecessary and horrible. Also, this movie couldn't have come at a worse time, as wolves have just been taken off the endangered species list, and hunting season for them will soon begin. I just hope that the public wont be fooled into thinking it's cinematic portrayal of wolves is real.
Any thoughts, comments or questions?
The basic plot is that a plane, transporting workers at an oil drill in Alaska, crashes into the tundra. Stranded in the cold, the seven survivors must make a plan to get back to civilization. However, a pack of wolves start stalking them, picking them off one by one.
The main beef I have with this movie is that it portrayed wolves as vicious, bloodthirsty killers. Of course, from the point of view of their victims this is what they are, but wolves as a species are far more complex than this. This was explained somewhat at the end:
The survivors are heading directly for the wolves den without knowing it, thus making the wolves attack to defend their territory.
But I still think it made them somewhat more vicious than they would be. I know this is a movie and they have to make it dramatic, but in my opinion the public doesn't need another source telling them that wolves are monsters.
That said, I thought the characters were excellent, the scenes of Alaskan wilderness were beautiful, and the death scenes(there are several) had a pathos that is rarely seen in movies these days. It seemed like there were actually people dying, and my disbelief was completely suspended. It pitted man against nature, and as always, nature brutally triumphs.
The thing that really made the movie for me was the ending.
John Ottway(Liam Neeson) is the only remaining survivor, and has stumbled into the very den of the wolves. The surround him, and he realizes that he is going to die. It is at this point that it is revealed that his wife is actually dead, and he has nothing left to live for. Reciting the poem of his father, he arms himself with a knife and some broken bottles taped to his fingers, and then charges the alpha wolf. And that's it, the movie ends. He obviously dies, but he dies fighting. I thought this was great, and the poem sends chills down my spine. After the credits roll, you see a shot of his head laying on the(presumably dead) alpha's stomach.
However, the thing that really makes me conflicted about this movie is that the filmmakers payed a trapper for four wolf carcasses, two to be used in shooting and two to be eaten by the cast. Eaten by the cast. As a believer in animal rights and a vegan, I have to say that this is completely unnecessary and horrible. Also, this movie couldn't have come at a worse time, as wolves have just been taken off the endangered species list, and hunting season for them will soon begin. I just hope that the public wont be fooled into thinking it's cinematic portrayal of wolves is real.
Any thoughts, comments or questions?