Ice Road

I like Liam Neeson movies. His rugged 'Mike" character is back at it again. As a Netflix production "The Ice Road" suffers from the same illnesses that plagues many of their studios, mostly due to tight budget limit, such as cheap CGI, no connection to reality at parts, quick production that leaves erroneous shots (truck models that switch etc) and not being able to keep highly-paid actors for the length of the film.

HOWEVER, if you ignore all that and grab some popcorn and a drink, this movie is action packed and is a good thriller filled with relatable, albeit clichéd, characters, such as his mentally struggling brother and the female trucker. I really enjoyed these characters and the overall acting level is excellent from all actors.

As an action movie I think it gives F9 a run for its money and probably overall is better, if you get upset by impossible movie action, this movie is probably not for you, but for pure action flick I give it an exact score of 57 / 100.

Watchable but predictible and very bad cgi for 2021.

I went into this screening with low expectations, because I had been told it was not a particularly good film. And, yes, some parts are just a bit hoaky, some characters are stereotypes, and there are some inconsequential goofs (dry clothing in the truck cab, after full immersion in the lake).

BUT, all that aside, the movie kept us on the edge of our seats for much of the time. It was an enjoyable evening / after-dinner movie! And, it is frankly much better than quite a few rather lame films that have come out, with thunderous publicity, in the last 18 months.

The plot involves a rescue mission, directed at saving workers in a collaposed mine. There are quite a few surprises (not outlined here, lest the comments become spoilers), so the plot is not particularly predictable. The all-too-common 'hyper-angst' that is frquently used in such movies is kept reasonably in check, so the action, and plot twists are at the forefront. Yes, there are several 'personal' storylines going on that form a backbone of the plot. But, they actually contribute to the suspense, rather than detract from it.

Yes it's not "My Dinner with Andre" or "Mindwalk", but is a Liam Neeson, Saturday afternoon beer drinking action movie. It's pure escapism from S-show that is America 2021.

Not sure who is my favorite from the 2. But both seem to love the 1-man-show kind of films which have absurd and nonsensical stories.

The Ice Road is...just another Liam Neeson movie. Obviously Nick Cage would have liked to be in this one, but Liam got there first.

Realism went for vacation here. Trucks and truckers after having seen this film are probably furious with these completely wrong and unbelievable scenes.

But, that's the Hollywood magic.

So folks this ain't a documentary but an action film set in cold Canada involving trucks, mines, bad people and ice roads.

In fact, it's an enjoyable action flick.

It needs to be seen with the right amount of patience, to go through all the silly dialogue moments and the unreal truck scenes.

Maybe the cinema experience helps too.

So, switch off and you might actually enjoy it.

5,9/10.