Liam Neeson is now 59 years old, which is way past the age of a typical Hollywood movie star. The average age of the 5 highest-grossing actors of last year—Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Sandler, Taylor Lautner and Robert Downey Jr.—is 39 years old.
Yet Neeson, nearing 60 but a burly 6’4, has become one of America’s action heroes and one of the unlikeliest big movie stars of the 21st Century.
Thanks to a recent surge of action-packed films, including (but not limited to) blockbusters “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” “Batman Begins,” “Taken,” “Clash of the Titans,” “The A-Team” and “Unknown.” Although these films haven’t been as well-received as Neeson’s famous work in critically acclaimed 90’s films like Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” or Woody Allen’s “Husbands and Wives,” Neeson is dominating box office worldwide with his newfound popularity as the new macho man of the big screen.
This week, Neeson is back in “The Grey”, a man vs. nature movie about a sharpshooter who crash-lands in the Alaskan wilderness with a bunch of society’s rejects, who are then hunted by wolves. The wolves travel in packs and have home-court advantage, but Neeson and his men team up and battle the wolves in an epic war for survival.
Here’s why high school kids will love it: this movie, about men alone in nature and fighting to stay alive, is just like so many other great movies that came before it, like “Cast Away,” “Into the Wild,” “The Edge,” “Jeremiah Johnson” and “127 Hours.” It takes place in Alaska, where the stakes are always high and the scenery is always breathtaking.
But the adrenaline rush is the X-factor.
All the Boy Scout lessons, Discovery Channel visits, and walks in the woods always have people thinking: what if I really was stuck here, battling to live? That is exactly the kind of topic “The Grey” deals with, but in a softer way. Neeson’s character struggles to come to terms with the fact that he may never see his family again, and this provides a bit of an explanation for this man who suddenly possesses great fighting skills.
Parts of “The Grey” are slow—glacial scenes showcasing the panic over the plane crash and campfire escape discussions—but the climax at the end is worth it. Plus, it’s incredible to see Neeson kick so many butts for a man who as old as Tobey Maguire and Shia LaBeouf combined.
The point is that even though there aren’t too many good movies out there nowadays—the best thing to do is rent “Bridesmaids” on Netflix—“The Grey” is a great movie. It’s a terrific story about a bunch of men who band together in frigid temperatures, thousands of miles from home, and claw their way to freedom and redemption.
Way to do Ireland proud, Liam.
