To See or Not To See: The Ice Road

The Ice Road follows Mike McCann (Liam Neeson), Gurty (Marcus Thomas), Goldenrod (Laurence Fishburne), and Tantoo (Amber Midthunder) as they set out to deliver time-sensitive, mission-critical “wellheads” to help extract the trapped Katka miners before they run out of oxygen. Director Jonathan Hensleigh ratchets up the tension at a brisk pace throughout this action-packed thriller, as the team tackles the ever-escalating challenges that get shoveled their way.

Let’s be upfront and frank about The Ice Road—this is not going to be an Academy Award winner. It’s not even a contender. I know it sounds harsh, but if you’ve followed any of Liam Neeson’s recent film outputs, especially in this genre, you’d know what to expect out of The Ice Road. The plot is boilerplate predictable. The acting and dialogue is serviceable and doesn’t hamper the experience too much. The CGI is ridiculously bad if you’re watching this in any resolution higher than 720p. And the physics are laugh-out-loud horrendous.

These mission-critical components that they are hauling weigh in excess of 25,000 pounds. However, we see the trucks themselves drifting through ice, slush, and snow not unlike something out of a Fast and Furious movie. The trucks are regularly smashing into each other with no damage or dents visible. Hell, two of the trucks are capsized, then winched upright without any damage to the side mirrors or windows! It’s absolutely Looney Tunes physics over here!

Liam Neeson is a great actor, there is no doubt. But there is also no doubt that the average Metacritic score of his last six movies is nothing to write home about. That being said, I fully went into this movie with low expectations, expecting the worst. But, surprisingly, I found it quite enjoyable. The pace of The Ice Road is fast. The action is frenetic. There are genuinely touching moments and the film does have something to say about capitalism, environmentalism, and the treatment of our veterans if you squint hard enough. On the scale of Neeson’s action-hero career, The Ice Road might not hit the cult-classic popularity of Taken, but it’s certainly not Men in Black: International.

★ ★ out of 4

The Ice Road is now steaming on Netflix

Photo Credit: Netflix