The Ice Road (2021) Netflix/Action-Thriller RT: 109 minutes Rated PG-13 (strong language, sequences of action and violence) Director: Jonathan Hensleigh Screenplay: Jonathan Hensleigh Music: Max Aruj Cinematography: Tom Stern Release date: June 25, 2021 (US) Cast: Liam Neeson, Marcus Thomas, Amber Midthunder, Benjamin Walker, Laurence Fishburne, Holt McCallany, Martin Sensmeier, Matt McCoy, Matt Salinger, Chad Bruce, Adam Hurtig, Bradley Sawatzky, Marshall Williams, Paul Essiembre, Arne MacPherson, Gabriel Daniels. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
This generation of moviegoers can have their super-powered action heroes and what not. I like my action heroes straight up, old school, no CGI chaser. Young people just don’t get it. If I had a dollar for every blank stare I get when I mention Charles Bronson, I could pay off a fair share of my wife’s credit card debt. The closest actor to him we have today is Liam Neeson who, at 73YO, still has plenty of fight left in him. He might be a bit slower these days, but he’s just as tough.
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I haven’t seen all of Liam’s actioners. I rectified that somewhat this past Saturday by watching The Ice Road on Netflix. It’s pretty good. Written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh (2004’s The Punisher), it’s a take on The Wages of Fear, the 1953 French film remade as Sorcerer (1977) by William Friedkin. In it, a group of truckers must travel over miles of ice road to help 26 miners trapped in a mine after an explosion. It’s an extremely treacherous journey fuelled by tension and fear.
Mike McCann (Neeson) answers the call for experienced truckers after losing yet another job defending his brother Gurty (Thomas, Kill the Irishman), an Iraqi War vet with PTSD and aphasia, from a**holes. The job entails transporting wellheads to the site of the explosion in Manitoba. It’s not going to be an easy run. They’ll be hauling heavy equipment over miles of ice road that’s starting to melt (it’s April). They can only go so fast due to ice road conditions. Also, they’re in a time crunch. The miners only have about 30-odd hours before their oxygen supply is depleted.
The guy leading the operation is Jim Goldenrod (Fishburne, The Matrix), an expert who earlier expressed doubt about such a mission succeeding. The driver of the third truck is Tantoo (Midthunder, Prey), a hot-tempered Indigenous American whose brother is one of the trapped miners. Also along for the ride is company insurance guy Varnay (Walker, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). He’s just there to supervise.
Naturally, the operation doesn’t run smoothly. Would there even be a movie if it did? The drivers run into all the usual problems- e.g. mechanical issues, pressure waves, ice cracking. PLUS, there’s a traitor among them. Somebody wants them to fail. I won’t reveal this person’s identity, but it’s fairly obvious. I will say it isn’t Mike or Ginty. They’re the ones who try to save the day.
The original source may be serious, but The Ice Road isn’t. It’s a silly as any other action flick designed to be enjoyed at a weekend matinee. On occasion, it seems to be trying to say something about the ill treatment of vets by society at large. In an early scene, Mike takes Ginty to a VA hospital for long-term care only to become enraged upon learning their idea of treatment is drugging patients. It’s also mentioned briefly that Tantoo is something of an activist for her people. Thankfully, Hensleigh doesn’t dwell on weighty issues like this for too long. He’s more interested in serving up explosions, avalanches, chases and fights. He’s all about the action. You can’t fault a filmmaker for that.
The performances are exactly what you’d expect in a dopey action flick. Neeson is great at what he does so there’s no reason to do it any differently than he usually does. Midthunder adds a welcome dose of estrogen bad assery to the proceedings. Thomas does a fine job as the disabled vet who also happens to be a brilliant mechanic. Fishburne excels at playing authority figures and doesn’t disappoint here. It’s too bad he’s given too little screen time.
Hensleigh effectively divides the time between the truckers, the trapped miners and the baddies trying to sabotage the mission. I like how he brings the story together. The action scenes are well executed. He makes excellent use of the wintry conditions. The editing tends to be wonky, especially in scenes where Neeson punches out some deserving person. Then again, the fight scenes in Bronson’s last few films weren’t all that convincing either. It one of the downsides of old age.
In general, I enjoyed The Ice Road. It’s entertaining in a no-frills kind of way. It delivers action the way we older folks like, blunt and two-fisted. If only it bore the Cannon logo.
