It's often been said, usually to panic-stricken passengers, that travelling by plane is one of the safest modes of travel. Try telling that to the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815. Or to the passengers sitting around Liam Neeson in this release, for that matter.

Although Alaska has some impressive vistas, it's not exactly the most hospitable place to live. So it's no wonder that a bunch of workers, part of an oil drilling team, are looking forward to going home for some well deserved rest.

Accompanying them on their flight is John Ottway (Neeson), a hired gun to help keep the local savage wolves away from the drilling team.

As luck would have it – bad luck, that is – their plane hits some pretty rough weather; so much so that it falls from the sky and crashes in the middle of nowhere.

Although the chances of being a passenger on a crashing plane are slim, the odds of actually surviving said crash are even slimmer. So Ottway and the handful of men who did manage to walk away should definitely consider themselves lucky; the problem is, it's difficult considering where they landed.

A white, barren wilderness, literally in the middle of nowhere. And as Bear Grylls wasn't a name on the passenger list, Ottway and chums appear to have fallen out of the flying frying pan and into a chilly tundra of a fire.

To make matters a whole lot worse, they're not alone; a pack of wolves are onto their scent and they're in no mood for dancing...

I can't believe they've destroyed our entry for Snowman of the Year 2012. Go get 'em boys!

The last time Neeson worked with director Joe Carnahan was on the diabolical remake of The A-Team, so it's understandable that this feature would be met with a certain amount of scepticism.

Thankfully Carnahan has put that mess behind him and shown genuine flair out on the snowy plains. He handles the plane crash with startling creativity and drapes a veil of pathos over the rest of this alpha-male-versus-alpha-male-in-the-wilderness tome.

It's also nice to see Neeson in a drama where a member of his family isn't heavily involved. Yes he is a big man in yet another bad situation, but the drama here has more of a human edge to it. The cinematography is also stunning.

The only real grumble is with the wolves. Occasionally it appears like Neeson and his pals are taking on a pack of rabid muppets; a scene that involves their glowing eyes is particularly unrealistic, which is a shame as otherwise, nature and her harsh elements are presented in an impressive naturalistic fashion.

It may well be another film where Neeson is taking on a formidable foe, but at least his battle against the hounds and the elements is less predictable and more engaging than many of his previous encounters with kidnappers and the like.

With Neeson already signed on for Taken 2, somewhat unsurprisingly, it's good to see him tackle something with more meat on its bones.

The Grey takes fairly unoriginal material and dabs it with a more dramatic palette, giving it not only more life and colour than you would necessarily expect, but also more than it possibly deserves.