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Film The Ice Road is the latest thriller starring Liam Neeson which acts as truckers who have to cross the ice roads are dangerous. Apart from being confronted by natural disasters, he also has to face the people who stand in his way.
The film opens with a diamond mining accident in Canada which kills 8 workers and leaves 26 others trapped in the tunnel. In the midst of depleting oxygen, they only needed 30 hours to be rescued.
To save time, Jim Goldenrod (Laurence Fishburne) must carry a very heavy wellhead down a treacherous icy trail above the lake. With so many truckers taking vacations, it’s hard to find a driver who wants to do this job.
Until finally Mike McCann (Liam Neeson), a truck driver came to apply for the job. He along with his sister, Gurty McCann (Marcus Thomas), a war veteran with PTSD who makes him like a child but has extraordinary mechanical skills.
Liam Neeson’s power of action
Many big names took part in this film. Moreover, Liam is currently almost 70 years old. Making him the oldest action star who is still busy wara-wiri in various Hollywood action films from year to year.
The other main players gave the best performance according to the capacity of the narrative and story. Like Marcus Thomas, Laurence Fishburne, and Amber Midthunder who also play a role with Neeson in another 2021 film, The Marksman.
The depiction and narration provided are quite interesting for the 109 minute duration of this film. The pace shifts are quite dynamic, although in some parts of the plot they are too slow. Not very friendly humor, making this film feel very serious. Moreover, the political theme embedded in the plot.
Action after action is shown. From fights against nature to twists from insiders trying to sabotage their journey. For a thriller class, the action is quite interesting. But not infrequently some of the scenes seem overly and exaggerated, especially in the third act which drains emotion.
Conflicts and problems are set in a suspenseful cinematic scene. But unfortunately most do not have the spectacular quality that makes it cinema-worthy to watch on the big screen. However there are some cool looking pictures taken from under the ice.
Truck driver’s dangerous journey
The Ice Road film is the latest work from Jonathan Hensleigh who acts as director and writer. Liam Neeson, a veteran actor who had delayed success after starring in the film Taken (2008) when he was 56 years old, plays a character who is full of suffering and has various flaws to make him even more relatable.
Hensleigh himself revealed that he was inspired by The Wages of Fear (1953), a classic thriller from France. Likewise, the interaction between Mike and Gurty was inspired by John Steinbeck’s popular novella, “Of Mice and Men”.
The background presented is relatively rare, discussing the ice road that is often used by truck drivers to carry cargo faster across a frozen lake in winter. So the premise of crossing the street in April, where the ice is starting to melt, makes it even more stressful.
There are also political criticisms of the mastermind behind the mining explosion controversy. Including the issue of race in the character of Tantoo, played by Amber Midthunder, a Native American who gets discrimination from other characters.
Full of twists
While the initial premise itself had already attracted interest, it didn’t take long for Hensleigh to bring a variety of problems into the film. Starting from mechanical failures, broken ice roads, avalanches, and various problems related to nature and human engineering.
Unfortunately from the start, many plots are confusing and invite question marks. Likewise with the unequal vibe in the third act towards the end of the story. The journey that was supposed to be offered as human vs nature returns to the standard, human vs human format.
Broadly speaking, there is nothing that distinguishes this film from Liam Neeson’s previous action films. Makes it like no other Netflix movie; only made for entertainment. Sometimes it’s fun, but a lot of it is forgotten. And maybe this film is more into the second.
Film The Ice Road is the latest iteration of the typical action movie Liam Neeson; almost the same format, only differing on the surface. The action is quite interesting, unfortunately the plot is messy and sometimes over reduces a lot of points plus enjoys this film.
