Ranking: Liam Neeson's Action Movies From Worst To Best

3. The Grey

While not strictly an action film, Joe Carnahan's survival thriller earns a spot on this list because it ended up being something so much better. Though marketed as a film centered around Neeson punching wolves, The Grey is actually an unexpectedly philosophical thriller about a group of plane crash survivors facing off against mother nature. With the bitter cold and a pack of wolves intent on sending the group to their early graves, each man comes to reflect on their own existence and place in the world, and set against this harsh Alaskan backdrop, the results are surprisingly poignant. Also, it's virtually impossible to watch the film without connecting it to Neeson's own private life, given that for scenes revolving around his character's dead wife, Carnahan suggested the actor draw upon the real-life loss of his wife Natasha Richardson. Right up to its impressively subversive final moments, this is a smart combination of Hollywood thriller fare with more thoughtful, literary themes.