Blue Ice

Clearly intended to be an update to the Harry Palmer successes of the 60's right down to the character's stiff upper lip/questionable ethics superior, love of jazz, reluctant spy scenario, and same first name. Obviously, copyright required a change to last name, otherwise, this is a Harry Palmer movie.

Far from the quality of Ipcress File and Funeral in Berlin, but superior story and plot compared to the subsequent Russian/Quebec produced "official Palmer movies".

Caine turns in another solid performance, but potential of film limited to script gaps. Highlights would be scenes between Caine and Hoskins that are far superior to rest of film. Sean Young hopelessly miscast, so what else is new, and there is no chemistry between her and Caine.

Michael Caine plays a former British agent with a penchant for jazz, crowded bars, and mysterious women. In his retirement, he owns a very successful nightclub, and when he meets Sean Young, he's smitten by her appeal and puts on the moves. They have a pretty hot-and-heavy romance—as hot and heavy as things get in 1992—but then she invites him to a classy party with lots of dignitaries. It turns out she's married to the American ambassador! What else is she hiding?

Blue Ice is an intense thriller with plenty of action scenes to keep the men watching and plenty of romance to keep the women interested. Ian Holm plays a very wicked bad guy, which, since I've only ever seen him in bad guy roles, isn't too much of a stretch. I happen to be a Michael Caine fan, so I was entertained by the film, but from an outsider's perspective who maybe isn't as much of a fan, it's not really the best movie out there. But if you like all his Harry Palmer spy movies, you might want to watch this one to see how he handles retirement!

I saw this because of Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins and Ian Holm star in it, although Bob Hoskins has a very small part. In the beginning the Sean Young character is receiving a message on her car phone from somebody who is probably an American spy. It is not clear why she is receiving the message apart ffrom the fact that the spy is her boyfriend. She is not in the spy business. Surely a spy would have a more suitable contact than his girlfriend. It is true her husband is the American ambassador in London but she does not tell him. She keeps it secret until she eventually meets Michael Caine's character. So she has nobody in the spy business to give it to. Later on we meet a man who introduces himself to Michael Caine as somebody who sees music as a form of code and that messages can be coded in music scores. What this has to do with anything is not made clear, although he is killed by the British head of one of the intelligence agencies, and we are not told what he knows, if anything. This head of intelligence lives in an expensive London house, wears expensive clothes, drives an upmarket car, belongs to an expensive private Gentlemans Club in central London and complains "What have they done for us?" as his excuse for cheating the British Government out of a large sum of money and killing whoever gets in his way. Strange journey of Sean Stacy driven by an American Embassy driver and followed by American intelligence operatives, and not clear why the driver and operatives have different objectives or even why they are concerned with her. Michael Caine does a good job of finding his way through a murky logic-less story. Good scenes of London in the 1980's, and many exciting fights etc (nothing really nasty apart from the occasional death). Watch it for Michael Caine and the other top actors, as well as the Jazz and Boby Short and Charlie Watts, but don't expect to learn anything about the spy business. Generally I liked it and the acting was believable.

In the opening scenes at a funeral you gotta love Michael Caine's explanation of blue ice. Typical dry British humour, which only Caine could nail down. "Blue Ice" is an often panned British espionage thriller, which I didn't mind despite its bleak and formulaic narrative with a saucy noir touch and an all-familiar hard-edge Caine performance. A former British spy now jazz club owner is asked by his mistress (who happens to be the wife of the American Ambassador) to find an old boyfriend and when he does he becomes embroiled in murder and something much more. Director Russell Mulcahy (who has always been a stylish film-maker) window dresses this thriller with jazzed up sophistication and inflated slickness amongst its suspense, brutality and sleepy London locations caught by his sweeping camera. The contrived plot is slow building, manipulating and toying with the protagonist in a fascinating manner and a sense of witty humour doesn't go astray. There's one sequence that really stood out for me, because of how surreal and nightmarish it becomes and that's the drug-induced interrogation of Caine's character. Sean Young plays it rather distantly cold as the sultry mistress. While the likes Ian Holm and Bob Hoskins have small parts. A sturdily told, if burnished 90s action thriller joint.

"Just put it down to blue ice".

I try to be respectful of others opinions as everyone is entitled to one, but, as an actor and a producer who has been the recipient of ignorant comments, I have to respond to some of the comments regarding BLUE ICE. For the person who chastises Michal Cain for doing this picture and suggesting he did it for the pay check, It was his company that produced it. It was supposed to be the first in a line of quarterly pictures for TV with the same character. His partner died and that ended that.

Regarding Bob Hoskins small role...he and Caine have been lifelong friends and this is just one more of a number of pictures they have done together and to suggest that Hoskins has "ruined" his career is just ludicrous.The man continues to turn in outstanding performances in A-list films and top of the line independents. See MRS. HENDERSON PRESNETS.

The name "Harry" is a staple of Noir through both film, novels and TV-to wit "Harry O" on TV with David Janson in the 70's. "Harry" in Heminghway's TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, and yes, the "Harry Palmer" stories of Len Deighton but that does not mean BLUE ICE is a rip off of those stories. And to suggest that Michal Caine does not do well in action films is ridiculous. See ZULU, BATTLE OF BRITIAN, A BRIDGE TO FAR, and a host of others.

I found BLUE ICE to be intelligent, well done, well acted picture with a good script. I do agree that the ending is not up to snuff but the rest of the film, especially the "Jazz" sections, is not something one sees often and it added a measure of quality to the picture.