‘The Grey’

Liam Neeson’s latest outing as an action star, “The Grey,” sets itself up to deliver a very traditional ending. It then proceeds to deliver that ending but, somewhere along the way, goes off-road and ends up someplace less than expected. I am not exactly sure where that place is, but it is more memorable than where I thought it was going.

Ottway (Liam Neeson) is a troubled man who works for an oil company in the far reaches of the Alaskan wilderness. His job is to shoot wolves that approach the work sites. On his flight back to Anchorage, the plane crashes, killing all passengers except Ottway and a handful of others. Fearing the cold, Ottway and the other survivors elect to push south toward civilization, but their journey is fatally complicated by a pack of ravenous wolves.

Perhaps the most effective element of “The Grey” is the ever-increasing sense of dread. There is a palpable urgency to the plight of the characters that grows more intense by the hour. Freezing gusts of wind and the remorseless howls of nearby wolves serve as constant reminders that the clock is ticking.

It has been interesting to watch the transformation of Liam Neeson’s career over the past few years. Previously known for his more serious dramatic work (“Schindler’s List,” “Kinsey,” et al.), Neeson has become somewhat of an action star, starting in 2008 with “Taken” and continuing with “Clash of the Titans,” “The A-Team” and “Unknown.” His emotional believability and his uncanny ability to exude integrity make him ideal for roles that require a strong, upright male lead who must fight the good fight. It has been fun to watch this transformation, but Neeson has insisted that his knees will not hold out much longer, as he approaches 60. But Neeson may be selling himself short. After all, Clint Eastwood was nearly 80 when he was kicking butt in “Gran Torino.”

Devin Vaughn, a former Princeton resident, resides in Cambridge, Mass. He can be reached at dvaughn86@gmail.com.