dingo865

This film is easily on the same level as The Pianist, but a lot more subtle and poetical, made 15 years earlier than Polanski's film - and also on a much more modest budget. It's not 'just' about a child's journey through the Shoa; it's also about much greater issues, such as the uncomfortable realization that being 'good' (as in behaving properly and humbly, forcing ourselves to follow 'respectable people' and their norms and beliefs) is exploited by evil to destroy good itself. It's about a journey most of us are forced to make in our lives at one point or another, and compels the viewer to face up to the starkest conclusions. Made just a few years before the fall of the Communist regime in Hungary, it was also fairly courageous in its choice of subject matter, ethical stance, and focus. It has its flaws (most of them due to its budgetary constraints and subsequent technological limits) yet it remains one of my most memorable movie experiences. The ending seared itself into my mind for the last 34 years.

I recorded this movie on my PVR, thinking it was going to be just another cheapo actioner imitating Asylum's garbage. Planned to fast-forward through the painfully boring parts, and stop by only for the delightfully stupid or violent (nudity was also promised by the warnings, but it turned out to be not female :)).

...and I ended up watching it from beginning to end. This movie actually has an interesting SF and Cold War premise; several great veterans of acting (Michael Ironside and Adam Beach) and performers I have never heard of before (Camille Sullivan, and Gabriel Hogan whose evil perfection is genuinely captivating), and they all seem to fill out their roles comfortably and believably. The actors manage to make their characters interesting enough that you want to listen to what they say, however banal that sometimes turns out to be. The writer(s) also tried to drag a bit of science and historical 'authenticity' into their story, and the dialogue is pretty decent (sometimes even good) most of the time.

On top of all that, the sets are solid (if indubitably inexpensive), there is an excellent use of real life locations, and the effects range from competent to good. This film is not a shoot'em-up actioner, but the action it does have (and when it has it) seems well-paced, and integral to the story.

Low-budget, frequently flawed, and somewhat cliché'd (I thought the 'big reveal' at the end was obvious after the first 5 minutes of the film), it is mediocre at best. Considering how many TRULY horrible movies you are flooded with on a daily basis, though, 'Ice Soldiers' is definitely not a bad movie; and it tries in every area - and really hard - not to go out of its way to offend your intelligence. Plus, this is one of perhaps only two or three movies in which Dominic Purcell is actually perfect for the character he plays!