A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Ice Road” (2021).
So my final inflight film from my recent transatlantic trip was Liam Neeson in “The Ice Road”.
Oh dear.
Both myself and the illustrious Mrs Movie Man watched it in parallel…. you know the score on a plane… “Ready, Steady, Press!”. But we both thought it was pretty awful!
Bob the Movie Man Rating(s):
Plot Summary:
Mike McCann (Liam Neeson) and his brother Gurty (Marcus Thomas) – are an effective driver/engineer trucking team. But thanks to Gurty’s ex-vet mental issues and Mike’s quick temper, they both have trouble keeping a job. But a disaster at a Canadian mine requires an urgent mission to be mounted, driving heavy trucks over semi-frozen lakes. And the level of pay on offer is too much for Mike to pass up.
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Liam Neeson, Marcus Thomas, Laurence Fishburne, Amber Midthunder.
Directed by: Jonathan Hensleigh.
Written by: Jonathan Hensleigh.
Twitter Handles: #TheIceRoad.
“The Ice Road” Review:
Positives:
- The relationship between Mike and Gurty is nicely observed, albeit something we’ve seen in numerous films before. And I liked Marcus Thomas’s understated performance as Gurty.
- The scenes where the trucks are on the ice sheets themselves have moments of excitement in a “will they fall in or won’t they” sort of way.
Negatives:
- The film is clumsily constructed with two different narratives: the ‘mine disaster’ one and the ‘perilous road trip’ one.
- The mine disaster is trying to be like “The 33” – the true story of the trapped Peruvian miners, with Antonio Banderas. But it lacks any of the requisite tension to make you care about the individuals involved. Add on top of that the convoluted, and rather nonsensical, ‘corporate shenanigans’, and you end up not caring whether the truckers make it or not.
- The trucking sequences are quite engaging while they are crossing the ice, albeit lumbered with some ‘B-movie’ grade CGI. But the convoluted ways in which the villain of the piece (no spoilers) keeps coming back for more stretches credibility to, and past, breaking point.
- Neither of these narratives gel together to make you think you are watching a coherent feature film.
- Neeson has been effecively typecast into this type of starring role: “Cold Pursuit“; “Honest Thief“; “The Commuter” – they are pretty much cookie cutter action films. And although he’s fine in the roles, he often seems to be going through the motions, and this is no exception. Is he really offered nothing better than this stuff these days? The guy was Oscar Schindler for f**k’s sake! (Upcoming films “Marlowe” and “Charlie Johnson in the Flames” actually sound more varied and interesting… I live in hope!)
- Elsewhere, excepting Laurence ‘blink and you miss him’ Fishburne and the aforementioned Marcus Thomas, the acting gets rather dodgy.
- Not that Fishburne’s demise isn’t wholly predictable when it happens, but surely the leg would be completely severed?!!
Summary Thoughts on “The Ice Road”:
I started watching this, and indeed recommended that the illustrious Mrs Movie Man watch it too. I was prepared for a “Taken” style “park your brain at the door” actioner. But there’s “park your brain at the door” and “labotomise and liquify your brain in a blender”. And this movie is certainly more the latter. Pretty poor stuff.
Trailer for “The Ice Road”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zjikObAJHk .
