I really wanted to like this movie, but my god they made it hard.
First of all, Neeson is awesome, and I don't really fault him in this film. I thought he played his role damn well, and the few redeemable moments in the film were thanks to his gravitas and excellent acting.
However, the list of things wrong with this movie is long. I'll have a go at it anyway (at least in abbreviated format).
- The CGI was terrible. Terrible! Fucking wolves out of The NeverEnding Story.
- The effects in general were poorly done, including sound effects. There were WAY too many scenes that transitioned from howling blizzard with snow flying around like mad, immediately to close in shots were there was no visible wind, no snow flying around (except off in the distance), and YET . . . you could hear the ROAR of wind screaming around them . . . conveniently dubbed in under the dialogue. I understand that it would be really hard to film legible dialogue and shots with consistent blizzard conditions, but you have GOT to do better than this.
- The fucking wolves were the most unrealistic wolves I've ever seen. This is the Jaws of wolves. They were dealt such a fucking unrealistic blow, making them out to be animals that they simply are not. Some basic Wiki research will do away with nearly all of the characteristics that the movie imbues them with . . . For instance, wolves don't tend to have hierarchy in the wild, packs tend to be immediate families and number well below 10 (they can RARELY get higher), wolves very rarely attack humans, and when it does happen, it's almost always in places were they have become accustomed to humans and human behavior (i.e., not in the fucking wilderness of Alaska). etc., etc., etc., folks. Wolves are way cooler than this. Piss off.
- Some of the events were simply too ridiculous to suspend disbelief. Like the guy jumping off a cliff and sailing over 50 feet FORWARD into a copse of treetops. No fucking way he launched that far horizontally. Also, the plane wreck survival is extremely unlikely. Has it happened before? Sure, but extremely rarely. Has a plane crash that severe (see wreckage, etc.) ever left that many people alive? I doubt it. Left them alive with that little injury? I'd be willing to say no. Also, I agree that they should have stayed put, and I voiced that IMMEDIATELY when they mentioned setting out vs. staying. Survival Skills 101 teaches you to stay the fuck where you are. You conserve resources, you stay closer last known location (thanks to handy GPS, electronics, etc.), etc. The idea that Neeson knew so much about being a wilderness badass but flubbed that up is itself absurd.
- Deep character development? Really, folks? You've been getting sold short, I think. If Mr. "no mas" counts as deep development, or ANY of those guys count, then your standards are low. The characters and the dynamics were painfully cliche to me most of the time. There were the occasional moments that I felt like delivered the genuine goods (including the end as well as the initial poem reading), but by and large . . . meh.
I wish this movie had been better. Had they taken a more realistic approach, made the story about their survival in the wilderness and not about a supernatural mutant wolf pack out of the 80's, and avoided the cliche pitfalls, this movie could have been great.
I won't count it against Neeson, but yeesh . . . I was disappointed.