Minaccia nucleare

First off, i cannot believe that ANYONE has recommended this movie and, OH YES, they have indeed. I caught this load of stink on network TV, luckily, not parting with any cash. It is TERRIBLE! The only redeeming feature of this movie is that it lowers the bar so much that Batteries Not Included may be resurrected and released by Criterion. I watch a lot of movies and some are bad, but if there is one thing that makes the viewing of a movie an awful experience it is feeling embarrassed for everyone involved with the making of it. PLEASE, do yourself a favor, if you are tempted to rent this or, God help us, buy this, or if it is on TV...READ A BOOK, GO FOR A WALK, WRITE A SCRIPT! Chances are if you are consulting IMDb for anything, then you could write, direct, and star in a better movie, much better, than this. Many compare this to Die-hard on a small scale, but that is a movie worth watching every few years, this is a movie that brings shame to low budget indie films. I love Bruce Campbell but you can't really do anything all that interesting with a horrible script. The fat hobbit is decent in films with great scripts. Do you see where I am going with this? A bad script is a bad script is a bad script and nothing can really make up for that, certainly not lame special effects and abominable acting. It does take place on a ski resort, and if you like ski movies that teeter on the fine line between trash and cult treasure, then I recommend watching Hot Dog The Movie. At least you'll laugh WITH the cast and enjoy the guilty pleasure of cheap titillation. My official scoring for this movie is 1 out of 10 because one isn't presented the option of 0 out of 10. Ed Wood would've relieved himself on this script before finishing page 10. If you are a filmmaker interested in learning everything you shouldn't do, watch it. Anyone else, including family of those involved, just pretend like it never existed and go outside and look at the sky for a couple of minutes, breathe in the air, and run your hands through the blades of grass at your feet.

I'm a sucker for a cast of known faces in a b-movie or such, but there's limits. 'Icebreaker' is an awful Die Hard clone that can't even do the formula justice as the main trio of names appear very little and then only to chew on poor dialog. It doesn't have the right pedigree to be a rewarding "bad" movie too.

Matt Foster (Sean Astin) is a Ski Patrol employee with a fiancée who comes from money whom the dad (Stacy Keach) thinks is not worthy of her. So what a break when a plane crash lands nearby the resort with stolen nuclear material onboard. Terrorist Carl Greig (Bruce Campbell) sends in his men to retrieve it before taking over the place as both the fiancée and her dad become hostages allowing Matt to save the day.

In a project I'd be surprised took longer than a week to shoot the story moves like a snail for the first two thirds. We're talking about needless scenes, characters, poor CGI and bad humor. Campbell in particular looks bored throughout. Rocking a bald look the most interesting thing about his character by far. Keach is playing a generic role and Astin is not believable as an action star. Try to suspend your disbelief especially when his stunt doubles take over later.

'Icebreaker' has a finale that is the best part by far, but not enough to salvage this. It made me think of better action flicks that take place in the snow like the opening to 'True Lies' or 'Die Hard 2' to hit the nail on the head. Largely a bore, people fawning over the cast overvalue how much these guys get paid.

A plane crashes near the Killington ski resort. On board is a container with a radioactivity warning--in the Cyrillic alphabet.

A group of terrorists, led by Sandra and the terminally ill Greig, are willing to kill, and they do. The power goes out at the resort, and contact is lost with the outside world, except for incoming calls to the resort.

Meg wants to marry ski patrol member Matt, who cleans banks during the off-season. Her rich father Bill does not approve. Through creative and humorous editing, as Meg explains Matt's good qualities, we get to see whether he actually has them. Matt is dealing with some of the terrorists, along with forest ranger Beck, who provides comic relief.

Oh, if only the entire movie had the quality of the music with the opening credits, repeated in the final scenes before the closing credits. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (the part that included the familiar 'Ode to Joy') performed by the Tblisi Symphony Orchestra. The credits didn't list the name of the excellent tenor soloist (I think he was a tenor, anyway). Magnificent.

I liked Bruce Campbell better as the comical hero Brisco County. He has his moments here as a smart-aleck villain, but I wouldn't say he could make a career out of playing a bad guy.

I felt sorry for Stacy Keach, who apparently was going through a career slump. He did show how talented he is, and if you blink you'll miss it.

Resort manager Clay came across as an incompetent idiot, and later as a poor excuse for a human being. I'm not sure this was a good thing. Beck was a more likable loser, and better acted too.

There were some interesting chase scenes, including one with a great stunt snowboarder. And plenty of explosions for those not obsessed with them. Also lots of tension toward the end. Early in the movie when the terrorists were in New York City, there was a great overhead shot of what may have been the Empire State Building.

But overall, there was nothing really special here.

I'm glad this was the only thing on when I was attempting to avoid being responsible...I couldn't stomach much more than five minutes of it (so I got back to work...boo hoo...) though I left it playing just to remind myself of what a real piece of cinematic trash looks like.

I'd like to know who financed this since I could use a loan for a real movie ha! ha! The acting stinks. The plot is retarded and I mean just what is the point? I like Bruce Campbell and Sean Astin and know both of them have done some cheesy work, but I would have to be paid a lot of money to save my shame and embarrassment on this one. It's one thing if a movie is meant to be cheesy, but for some reason, I get the impression that this one was meant to be taken seriously. Yeah, I'd show off my snowboarding skills if I were being chased by someone intent on killing me...I mean I am that good. Of course the thug chasing Sean Astin was doing helicopters too, as if they were choreagraphed by someone in junior high school...

What a waste. I pity the fool who thinks this was a worthy work.

The plot in Icebreaker is such a mess that it doesn't merit much discussion. A group of terrorists descend on a Vermont ski resort looking for a downed plane carrying a nuclear device. In the end, however, the nuclear device is all but an afterthought as the head baddie sets his sights on the lesser goal of blowing up a ski gondola with one person on board. Ski patrol member Matt is on the case to stop the terrorists and save his fiancé (who is quite naturally the person on the gondola).

How in the name of all that is Holy did the makers of Icebreakers get a cast that includes Sean Astin, Stacy Keach, and Bruce Campbell? Were these guys that hard-up for work? Do they enjoy skiing so much that a free weekend on the slopes of Killington was enough to entice them? Did the producers have compromising photos? I just don't get it. Astin may be a good actor, but he's not my image of an action hero. When I think of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, and Rob Van Dam - Sean Astin is not the next name that comes to mind. Stacy Keach phones in his performance from the State line. It's obvious he has no interest in Icebreakers. As for Campbell, as much as I love him, not even he can save this thing. Bruce's charm, so evident in the Evil Dead Series or Brisco County or even Burn Notice, is not here. Like Keach, he doesn't look overly interested in the project.

But the acting's not the problem - it's the muddled plot. I watched the whole thing and still have no idea what was motivating the terrorists. They want the nuclear device simply because that's what a terrorist would do. The take-over of the ski resort seemed so unnecessary. Their plan had not gone so off-track that they still couldn't have secretly gotten their weapon and disappeared. Why bring so much attention to their activities? The answer - it's in the script. The whole thing this is a complete mess. Character motivation in Icebreakers makes absolutely no sense.

I'll give Icebreakers a generous 3/10.