The Ice Road (2021)
Liam Neeson heads a team of truck drivers on a dangerous mission over frozen lakes and winter roads to deliver a crucial component to save workers trapped in a collapsed diamond mine.
For the first hour this is basically Neeson does Ice Road Truckers before the film veers off into action film territory with hints of a poverty row Mad Max Fury Road thrown in.
This isn't a bad thing, The Ice Road is a fun and largely entertaining film with some great location filming in the wilds of Winnipeg. Occasionally budget limitations show, especially when the mine explodes, but on the whole the SFX out on the ice look pretty impressive and create some tense set pieces.
In some respects the film is cliched as pretty much anything that could happen out on the ice does happen but it added to the enjoyment level for me, also one or two unexpected plot twists were quite welcome.
Usually i'd finish a review for a film like this saying they don't make films like this anymore when it's obvious they do even if it's for Netflix rather than cinemas. So with this and Those Who Wish Me Dead that i saw over Christmas it's nice to see something approaching the 90's style action thriller making a bit of a re-emergence. The Ice Road is hardly essential viewing but i'm happy to add this good looking Blu-ray to my collection.
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