Tonight's Movie: The Ice Road (2021)

From time to time my oldest daughter and I enjoy sharing a day of action movies, and this weekend we enjoyed such a "marathon" for the first time since COVID hit.

We had a great time watching four films yesterday, beginning with THE ICE ROAD (2021). Scroll to the end of this post for a preview of the other titles, as well as links to past action movie marathon reviews.

THE ICE ROAD is an original Netflix film starring Liam Neeson as weathered big rig driver Mike McCann.

Mike is inseparable from his brother Gurty (Marcus Thomas), a vet who has significant issues stemming from PTSD. Despite his problems, Gurty is nothing short of genius level when it comes to mechanic skills.

After being fired from their latest job due to Gurty's hot temper, the brothers land work with Jim Goldenrod (Laurence Fishburne) driving emergency supplies to the site of a diamond mine cave-in in Northern Canada. Time is of the essence for the delivery needed to make the rescue possible, as air will run out for the trapped miners after three days.

It's a very dangerous job driving big rigs over a road literally made of ice, but Mike is hoping to use the high pay to make a down payment on a big rig so he and his brother can go into business for themselves.

Three big rigs set out on the trek; in addition to Mike and Gurty's truck, one truck is driven by Goldenrod and the other by young Tantoo (Amber Midthunder), whose brother (Martin Sensmeier) is one of the trapped miners. She's accompanied in her truck by Tom (Benjamin Varnay), an insurance company rep.

No one will be surprised that, thanks to both nature and people with nefarious intentions regarding the mine, things don't go as smoothly as hoped for the drivers in this 109-minute film.

A Twitter acquaintance likened the movie to a "live action comic book," while the constant perils made me think of watching a series of movie serial cliffhangers, one after the other. There were also some serial-quality cartoony villains and aspects of the film were predictable or unbelievable, but hey, it's a Liam Neeson action movie!

Despite (because of?) the "Perils of Neeson" qualities, I had a good time watching this film, as it delivered pretty much what I was expecting. You name it, it happens: Cracking ice, jackknifed rigs, an avalanche, a collapsing bridge, and saboteurs, to name just the most significant problems.

As ever, Neeson does his "beaten down but definitely not out" thing to perfection, and he and Thomas sensitively convey their brotherly relationship. When Neesom at one point said "Now I'm angry," I might have let out a cheer.

Potential spoiler alert: Fishburne's role is somewhat closer to a cameo than a costar, as he exits the film surprisingly early. I enjoyed Midthunder as the gutsy, somewhat embittered young driver; her character's relationship with her endangered brother is a nice complement to the depiction of the Neeson-Thomas brothers.

The movie was written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. I especially enjoyed the movie's icy "look," filmed by Tom Stern in Manitoba, Canada. The unique ice road setting definitely provided added interest.

Parental Advisory: This film is not being shown theatrically in the U.S., but IMDb lists a rating of PG-13. There is some bad language and non-bloody yet sometimes disturbing violence; I found one death in particular was unexpected and shocking. The rating strikes me as appropriate; young children might be troubled by some story aspects. Positive themes include family loyalty and a determination by the lead characters to help those in need.

A trailer is here.

Coming this week: Reviews of the other films seen yesterday, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II (2000), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III (2006), and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT (2006).

Previous action movie marathon reviews: 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Previous Liam Neeson action film reviews: UNKNOWN (2011), NON-STOP (2014), and THE COMMUTER (2018).

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