Piège de glace

I must admit that whenever Liam Neeson stars in a movie, then it is a movie that I feel that I must watch, because he definitely has a track record of some rather impressive movies these last many years.

However, when I read the synopsis for "The Ice Road", I must admit that I wasn't exactly overly impressed. But still I sat down to watch the movie, as it had Liam Neeson in it, after all.

And I must say that writer and director Jonathan Hensleigh actually managed to put together a good old fashioned thriller. And while the concept may have seemed a bit off, then it actually worked out well enough with having the movie take place in the frigid colds of northern Canada.

The storyline told in "The Ice Road" is one that quickly lets its frostbite set in and director Jonathan Hensleigh doesn't let you go before the movie comes to an end. I have to admit that I was genuinely more than entertained by the story told in this movie.

Needless to say that Liam Neeson does it quite well in this movie as well, of course he did. And he was joined by the likes of Marcus Thomas, Laurence Fishburne, Amber Midthunder and Benjamin Walker for a rather interesting and fast-paced thriller.

"The Ice Road" was definitely a surprisingly good movie, and it was one that provided me with proper entertainment.

I am rating "The Ice Road" a six out of ten stars.

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.

Watchable but predictible and very bad cgi for 2021.