Manny The Movie Guy /

Liam Neeson is back to save the world in "The Grey." The unlikely action star reteams with his "A-Team" director, Joe Carnahan, for a high-concept movie that is quite deeper than your average run-of-the-mill popcorn flick.

Inspired by the short story "Ghost Walker" by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers, "The Grey" tells the tale of John Ottway (Neeson), a sharpshooter who has been hired by an Alaskan oil refinery to keep indigenous wild beasts from attacking oil workers during their shifts.

The film begins at the refinery where crude oil is broken into various elements for commercial use. Workers endure grueling five-week shifts then have about two weeks off for vacation. From the moment we hear Neeson’s narration in the beginning, we are sucked into the narrative of "The Grey."

The Ottway character is very intriguing. His internal monologue at the start of the movie defines him as a loner who has been missing his wife. Ottway spends the day hunting bears and wolves, and writing letters at night.

Ottway is part of a group of men heading back home one stormy evening. Their plane encounters a brutal storm that caused it to crash in the Alaskan tundra. All on board are killed except for eight survivors.

The plane crash is intense and Carnahan directs it with demonic fervor that you will probably avoid the not-so-friendly skies the next time you travel. And like in "The A-Team," the action is balanced by male bonding scenes. This group of guys is trying to survive, pursued by a pack of mysterious, almost mystical wolves.

When I interviewed Carnahan for "The Grey," he mentioned that he has been intrigued with the ideas of masculinity and male bonding. If you look at the director’s oeuvre, from "Narc" to "The Grey," you can detect his constant yearning to define the male gender.

In "The Grey," Ottway becomes the Alpha male of the pack after the plane crash. He’s the sharpshooter and works with wolves, so he is appointed as the leader of the gang who will take them to safety. What I like about the film is each character is given enough arcs for us to believe in them.

One of my favorite supporting actors of the testosterone-heavy lineup is Dermot Mulroney. He plays Talget and is barely recognizable in the film. But as the movie proceeds, Talget slowly peels off his heavy clothing as a way to reveal his character.

When a group of guys is hunted by a pack of wolves, some preposterous scenes are bound to happen. You can probably predict who is going to survive and die but Neeson makes any unbelievable moment feel real. His presence and performance add much-needed gravitas to the film.

Jeffers crafted a rough screenplay which Carnahan spent the next four years developing. I enjoyed the film’s conceit of man vs. nature, and I admire the script’s balance between scares and laughs. As the men gather to warm-up, they say silly jokes to pass time, laughter ensues. But then, you hear a wolf’s cry from a distance that will give you the heebie-jeebies. It helps that these wolves are presented much better than those in the "Twilight" movies.

"The Grey" is a smart popcorn flick that will stay with you for a while. The movie is like "Deliverance" but with a pack of really mean wolves. The film’s unpredictable ending will make you wish that if you get stranded in the Alaskan Tundra, make sure you have Neeson on speed dial.