Producers: Lee Nelson, David Tish, Shivani Rawat, Al Corley, Bart Rosenblatt and Eugene Musso Director: Jonathan Hensleigh Screenplay: Jonathan Hensleigh Cast: Liam Neeson, Benjamin Walker, Amber Midthunder, Marcus Thomas, Laurence Fishburne, Holt McCallany, Martin Sensmeier, Matt McCoy, Matt Salinger, Chad Bruce, Adam Hurtig, Bradley Sawatzky, Marshall Williams and Paul Essiembre Distributor: Netflix
Grade: C
A methane explosion at a diamond mine in northern Manitoba opens this action movie—Liam Neeson’s latest—from writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh, trapping a group of miners underground. How are they to be rescued? Some heavy drilling equipment is the only option, but a government minister (Paul Essiembre) learns that the military is unable to airlift it in to the remote location.
That leaves trucks, which would have to meet a thirty-hour window to save the men. Their only chance would be to drive over frozen lakes—the titular ice road—and use an aging bridge to reach the site in time. But it’s late in the season, and the ice is probably too thin to bear the weight. Is anyone willing to take the chance?
For a promised $200,000, the answer is yes. Tough-guy trucker Goldenrod (Laurence Fishburne) agrees to assemble a team of three big rigs, each carrying the necessary equipment for redundancy’s sake; he’ll drive one, feisty Native American Tantoo (Amber Midthunder) another, and gruff Mike (Neeson) the third, accompanied by his brother Gurty (Marcus Thomas), an ace mechanic who suffers from aphasia and PTSD, the result of his war injuries. A last-minute addition is Varnay (Benjamin Walker), a representative of the mining company.
The first phase of the trip is marred by the loss of one rig, which falls through the ice along with Goldenrod. The other two rigs manage to outrun the crackling ice, though they fishtail and overturn in the process; suspicion of sabotage splits the survivors, and about an hour into the story Mike finally utters the lines his fans will have been waiting for: “Oh, now I’m angry. It’s not about money now. This is personal.” Mike has already shown what he’s capable of when anyone mistreats his brother; now he’ll target those who imperil his job—and himself.
Truth be told, there’s little surprise in the revelation of who and what are behind the sabotage of what’s portrayed as a last-ditch mission of mercy. But the chases, fights and dangerous crossings that follow are choreographed well enough, though it’s a pity that the VFX, from the opening explosion to the sight of an incoming storm, an avalanche and undulating waves of ice, is so mediocre (the effects supervisor was Tristan Zerafa). Otherwise the technical work–Tom Stern’s cinematography, Arv Greywal’s production design, Douglas Crise’s editing—is good enough, though hardly on a par with the best one finds in such fare, and Max Aruj’s score adds propulsion as required.
The acting is okay too, with Neeson offering his customary haggard-hero dedication, Fishburne his accustomed swagger, Midthunder an appealing spunkiness and Walker a broodingly menacing presence. Back at the mine, periodic inserts show us the deteriorating condition of the trapped men, including Holt McCallany’s Lampard and Martin Sensmeier’s Cody, and the conversations of the general manager of the operation (Matt McCoy) and his assistant (Brian Sawatzky). Unfortunately Thomas overdoes things as saintly Gurty.
But it’s not really his fault. The character is one of the least successful elements of Hensleigh’s screenplay, which paints him in the mold of Lennie from “Of Mice and Men” (he even has a pet rat that he brings along on the trip.) The script is filled with improbable, even ludicrous, episodes, of course, but that’s to be expected of the guy who wrote “Jumanji,” “Armageddon,” and “Die Hard With a Vengeance.” His direction, on the other hand, is more capable than his previous movies in that capacity, “The Punisher” and “Kill the Irishman,” might lead you to imagine.
“The Ice Road” doesn’t equal Neeson’s last venture in frigid climes, “Cold Pursuit.” That picture added some welcome twists to what had become formulaic in the actor’s action output, while this one pretty much follows familiar Neeson terrain, despite a change of locale and mode of transportation. In spite of all the action, it feels like a rather tired retread.