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Liam Neeson has risen to be one of the most iconic action stars of the century, and one of his best films is about to change its free streaming homes.
Adapted from Ian MacKenzie Jeffers' "Ghost Walker," and co-written by the author, The Grey starred Neeson as Alaskan oil facility security lead John Ottway, who is in the midst of mourning his wife's death from a terminal illness. When he and his co-workers' flight home crashes in the snowy wilderness, the group not only find themselves striving to survive the harsh environment, but also that of a wolf pack whose territory they crashed in.
Now, just over 14 years after the movie became a critical and commercial hit, The Grey is changing its free streaming homes. The R-rated action thriller, which was available on Tubi up to January 31, is now shifting to being available to watch for free on The Roku Channel, Shout! Factory, Plex and the public library-driven Hoopla.
Helmed by Joe Carnahan and co-starring his frequent collaborator Frank Grillo alongside Neeson, The Grey remains a unique standout of Neeson's action genre filmography. For starters, after beginning his genre venture with Taken, the survival thriller still sits as his No. 3 best-received genre effort, even before the 2009 hit, on Rotten Tomatoes. Its 80% approval rating from critics puts it behind 2023's In the Land of Saints and Sinners at 83% and Batman Begins at 85%.
Additionally, The Grey also marked the start of the Hollywood tradition in which studios began including reaction quotes from critics, and now influencers, in the trailers for a film. Until then, such quotes had been included on some posters and in For Your Consideration materials sent when pushing for awards' contention, but are now one of the more recurring tricks used in marketing to further build anticipation for a film or TV show.
Interestingly, however, was that audiences were largely mixed with the film, giving Neeson his lowest audience RT score in nearly a decade at 61% after The Chronicles: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe earned the same score in 2005. Some of this was chalked up to the way it plays with survival genre tropes, while others pointed to The Grey's cliffhanger ending, which saw Neeson's protagonist face off against the alpha of the wolf pack, but cuts away without showing the proper fight.
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With much of The Grey's marketing centered around the concept of Neeson fighting wolves, this was seen as something of a disappointment, particularly since its post-credits scene doubles down on this ambiguity with the sight of Ottway lying on the wolf's body, but no indication as to which is still breathing. Even more divisive was Jeffers and Carnahan's focus on introspective characters and theological discussions among its group of survivors, which some audiences found distracting from its action genre thrills.
Despite some of this division, The Grey not only proved a box office hit with over $81 million grossed worldwide, but has frequently made its way to the top of streaming charts. As such, with it moving away from Tubi to other free platforms, it will be interesting to see if it enjoys another wave of success and attracts the attention of a pay-for-viewing platform to acquire its rights.
Release Date January 26, 2012
Runtime 117 minutes
Director Joe Carnahan
Writers Joe Carnahan, Ian Mackenzie Jeffers
Producers Jules Daly, Mickey Liddell, Ridley Scott, Joe Carnahan