There’s a thing about people wanting to “get back to nature” that survival stories often try to address: when you really get back to nature, it means literally and almost constantly fighting for your own continued existence. It’s a side that some people never really think about, but it’s exactly what others like about this idea. The chance to pit yourself against whatever Mother Nature has to throw at you, going toe-to-toe with the harshness of the elements and ferocity of the animal kingdom. Me personally, I won’t even begin to consider such a thing until someone invents heated nature. Until then, movies like The Grey are as close as I wish to get.

A team of Alaskan oil-drillers board a plane to take them back from their middle-of-nowhere workstation. However, en route, their plane crashes down in the open wilderness, killing all but seven men. The group must now to come together to survive in the Alaskan wilderness, staving off the cold, the lack of food and the pack of enormous Timber Wolves that see them as intruders in their territory.

Over the years, there have been numerous television series that have catered to this particular survivalist fantasy, in one form or another, like Alone in the Wild, Apocalypse Man, How to Survive, Extreme Survival, Ray Mears’ World of Survival, the list goes on. Similarly, there have been several movies to satisfy for all ages, like The Edge, Alive, White Fang, Iron Will, The Snow Walker, a forgotten TV movie with Matt LeBlanc called Anything to Survive, and… um, I don’t know, The Jungle Book? To the latter list, director of tough, gritty crime thrillers Joe Carnahan has made his own addition, and it genuinely could be the best of them all.

Carnahan’s gritty visual tack, used so effectively in 2002’s Narc, applies itself very well to this story and this setting. The Grey lacks much in the way of sheen or polish, but doing so better taps into the more primal immediacy of the piece. And primal is very much the key word that runs through the whole film. There is a palpable and persistent feeling of something dreadful and terrifying that exists all around this group. Legitimate threat exists everywhere for these men, from the harsh icy winds to the oxygen-sapping altitude, the lack of shelter to the lack of food, the growing tempers between them all to the pack of enormous wolves that hunt them, keenly smelling the blood in the air from the mens’ wounds sustained from the crash. These are the kinds of things that can, and do, get people killed.

In the middle of it all is Ottway, a hunter hired by the oil company to keep an eye out for their employees when working onsite. A very troubled man, he becomes the closest thing these men have to hope if they’re to survive, although he himself holds little inclination to survive. It’s only on pure instinct that he's trying to keep himself and these men alive. It’s Liam Neeson filling Ottway’s shoes and, dammit, it rests up there with some of the best work he’s ever done. Over the past seven years or so, Neeson has been building a surprisingly effective screen presence as the go-to guy for movie badassery. A scene that rather succinctly establishes this is one in which Ottway curses out God, fiercely demanding some kind of help, before finally sitting back and quietly declaring, “Fuck it… I’ll do it myself.” From here on, the man whose desire to live has been questionable before is now firmly decided on living.

There are some problems with the film, though most of them aren’t enough to derail the film, some even forcing it to be handled much better. The other men lack the same kind of strong characterisation that Ottway gets, so they can come off as rather faceless at times [insert ‘wolf eating a face’ joke here]. Another problem is that the wolves themselves are sometimes rendered with CG, which isn’t of a standard you’d like. However, to remedy this, Carnahan has rather wisely chosen to keep them cast in shadow most of the time. They come to live in the darkness of the woods, their threat becoming more constant and looming, only giving itself away in the lights of their eyes, the fog of their breath, the terrifying howl of the pack. Make no mistake, these things are scary.

If there is fatal flaw with the film, it’s not with the film itself, but in the marketing. Everyone who’s seen the trailer remembers only one image. Liam Neeson, knife in one hand, broken bottles taped to the other, facing down a big black wolf like Red Riding Hood’s pissed off dad… Alpha to Alpha… this is gonna be epic!

In truth, this is all something of a mis-sell. What this trailer promises is Liam Neeson squaring off against the ferocity of Nature itself in a final contest to the death, so the actual unfolding of the film, and the abrupt ending, will maybe disappoint those that want to see that final showdown in all its glory. Understand that this fight is not what the film is about, but about the more lasting concern of a man’s hunger to fight and keep on fighting in order to live. With this in mind, the ending is much better and carries more weight. However, the post-credit scene may be helpful in offering more closure for those that want it, so stay in your seats when it’s done.

In all, flawed as it is, The Grey is a fine film, atmospheric, brutal and holding a superb show from its lead. If you’re expecting a no-holds-barred, half-hour long battle between wolf and Neeson for control of all Earth, it’s best you re-adjust your expectations of the film. Go in with the right head on, and you’ll get something from it.