4 Years Later, This Survival Thriller Is Outlasting the Streaming Competition

Now that the dust has mostly settled, it would be safe to declare The Grey as the best movie that Liam Neeson headlined during his action-star era. This phase famously began in 2008, when Neeson played a highly skilled former CIA operative hunting down the human traffickers who kidnapped his daughter in Taken; that movie defied the odds to gross more than $225 million worldwide and paved the way for more than a decade of action-oriented roles for Neeson.

Directed by Joe Carnahan, The Grey was released in 2011 and holds a "Certified Fresh" 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus calls it "an exciting tale of survival, populated with fleshed-out characters and a surprising philosophical agenda." The cast includes James Badge Dale, Frank Grillo and Dermot Mulroney; the film grossed more than $80 million worldwide against a reported $25 million budget.

Its 2022 counterpart, Fall, made around $22 million against a $3 million budget.

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