Ice Road: Vengeance

An attempt to shoot a B-movie? It makes no sense for Liam Neeson to want to be remembered for such bad films, but if he keeps making them, I guess this is how he'll be remembered! Once again, we're subjected to an extremely weak script and the 'White Savior' trope being shoved in our faces. The same old conflict with greedy power brokers and forced, unconvincing scenes.

Lifeless Action and Flimsy Logic: Illogical character choices, poor pacing, and fight scenes devoid of impact-sometimes unintentionally making the film's tone comedic.

Aging Action Star Syndrome: Neeson clearly wants to prove he's still formidable, but he no longer has the agility needed for believable fight scenes against younger opponents.

Overall, a waste of time! With one exception: the breathtaking visuals of Nepal's countryside... But hey, it's not even shot in Nepal!

This film had all the ingredients to be something remarkable, a gripping premise, the raw and treacherous beauty of Nepal's unforgiving roads, and the presence of Liam Neeson, whose performance rarely disappoints. And yet, what could've been a visually stunning and emotionally compelling survival thriller fell flat, entirely due to a poorly written story that disrespected both geography and authenticity.

Instead of leveraging the naturally dangerous terrain of Nepal to drive a more grounded and believable plot, the filmmakers seemed more interested in rushing through implausible sequences. The most jarring offense? Presenting a CGI version of Everest that looked painfully out of place, especially when we know the real mountains are right there, majestic, harsh, and more cinematic than any computer-generated replica.

Even worse, the portrayal of Nepali culture and language was laughable. Random gibberish passed off as "Nepali" only served to insult rather than represent. For those of us who know and love the country, this felt careless, even offensive.

And let's address the elephant in the room: you simply cannot take a bus from Kathmandu and reach Everest in a few hours. The film treats this like a casual weekend trip. It's not just misleading; it's disrespectful to the very people whose land and struggle the movie pretends to showcase.

The only reason I gave this movie 5 stars was because of Liam Neeson. Strip him away, and this wouldn't deserve more than a 2. A spectacular setting wasted on a lazy script and cheap execution.

I love Liam Neeson, even his rehular predictable fare after Taken 1 and 2. Here he growls his way through another revenge mission, this time set against the stunning backdrop of the Himalayas. But Ice Road Vengeance barely escapes the avalanche of its own clichés.

The plot: a frozen road, some dodgy mining conspiracies, a dead relative (naturally), and a long drive toward payback. It wants to be Taken on Ice, but ends up somewhere between a forgettable TV movie and a rejected episode of Ice Road Truckers: Nepal Edition.

The real letdown? The glaring lack of authenticity. Nepali politicians speaking English in a speech to the local crowd, not a single notable local actor in the main cast, and cultural details that feel as deep as a Lonely Planet summary. It's Hollywood exoticism on autopilot... all scenery, no substance.

That said, the cinematography deserves credit. The icy roads and mountain vistas are easily the film's best performers. But even Neeson's stoic charm can't steer this one out of the ditch.

Verdict: A missed opportunity: half-hearted action, surface-level storytelling, and a setting wasted on stereotypes. Watch only if you're stuck indoors with bad Wi-Fi and no popcorn left.

5/10.

This is the type of stuff that made all the rounds of Cinemax, HBO, Showtime... and the second tier movie theaters back in the 80's. The early to mid 80's really... and I absloutely ate them up. Yes they were terrible... you don't realize just how bad until you try and rewatch them as an adult.

Bad plots, some mediocre acting and dialogue... completely unreal situations. It has it all! And just like back then, I enjoyed it for the most part.

I would never bother to watch it again, it really doesn't have anything that would get me to do that. Back when I was a teen, they just showed the same movies multiple times a week... you watched out of sheer boredom at nothing else being available.

They really pushed the "bad " French woman... all 5'1" of her! She reminded me of "Grumpy Cat" on the internet! I have no problem believing a woman can be dangerous, but not weighing 90 lbs and fighting a 6'4" 220lb guy...even if he is ancient.

In an overall general way, Ice Road part 2 is entertaining, but it's also a ridiculous movie, with an awful script, horrible acting, and at times so bad it was funny. There is absolutely nothing in it that even slightly resembles reality. There is one sequence in the film that is so preposterous and seemed to signal that they decided to set the movie in fantasyland. Even the CGI is fake looking and on the level of something from the 1950s. Liam is doing his best and at 73 looks incredible. It's a shame he has to make films like this and while at times it is suspenseful it's also embarrassing. Worth a watch just to see how low movies have sunk.