Ice Road: Vengeance, 2025.
Written and Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh.
Starring Liam Neeson, Bingbing Fan, Mahesh Jadu, Bernard Curry, Michala Banas, Geoff Morrell, Kaden Hartcher, Rosie Traynor, Shivantha Wijesinha, Grace O’Sullivan, CJ. Bloomfield, Amelia Bishop, Salim Fayad, Luke Clayson, Monish Anand, Eleanor Barkla, and Shapoor Batliwalla.
SYNOPSIS:
Mike travels to Nepal to scatter his late brother’s ashes on Mt. Everest. When Mike and his mountain guide encounter mercenaries on a tour bus, they are forced to fight to save themselves, the passengers, and the local villagers’ homeland.
There are so many late-career Liam Neeson action flicks that they blur together in the mind. As such, the sudden announcement of an Ice Road sequel (not an exaggerated term, as the film seems to have been thrown on the release schedule and had its existence made aware to me all within this week) titled Ice Road: Vengeance, not only had this critic digging through his archives for a refresher on what he thought of the first movie, but also trying not to mix it up with other Arctic Liam Neeson actioners like Cold Pursuit. After jogging my memory, the titular ice road and one exciting sequence came crashing back into mind, alongside the dopey central bond between brothers Mike McCann (Neeson) and his PTSD-stricken brother.
The sequel? Zero ice roads. It should be common sense that if there are no ice roads in your Ice Road movie, it might not be worth making or, at the very least, deserves a title change. Then again, even if there were ice roads, this film would most likely still be terrible like its predecessor, only without one worthwhile set piece. Watching this sequel made me realize I probably came down a little too hard on that one compared to this.
Mike is still adjusting to life without his brother (I vaguely remember his death in the first film), and has decided now is the time to spread his ashes over Mount Everest, a place he had always wanted to visit. At the same time, in Nepal, there is a village overrun by corrupt politicians working together with mercenaries to strip away civilian land in favor of building a dam. As Mike boards a tour bus accompanied by Mount Everest tour guide (Bingbing Fan), alongside several other characters including a US government official fixated on human rights who brings his unenthused daughter on the trip (a divorce has complicated things in the family), a driver, and some other people we care even less about, they become entangled in the mercenaries plans to kill off those who stand in the way I getting the dam constructed. This includes the son of the village elder, who ends up striking a connection with the American’s daughter.
From that danger, Mike takes over driving the tour bus all around the mountains with chase sequences coming up now and then. Admittedly, returning writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh is trying his damnedest to put that bus into unique situations, such as being attached to a cable to help slow it down traversing down a mountain road containing sharp turns, or placing it on a crane-operated bridge to get across a gap, but the unfortunate reality is that none of this is compelling. It’s also often laughable due to some atrocious visual effects, including falling rocks and explosions (there’s no Netflix money this time, unlike in the first film, which at least provided the budget to make it look good).
Even when it’s mixing and more traditional Liam Neeson action with fights on the tour bus or the occasional shootout (it’s also worth mentioning Bingbing Fan gets in on the action and holds her own, which is no surprise for anyone familiar with her work), this is supremely generic. Aside from the opening and ending scenes, the film doesn’t even bother to attempt any character work with Mike. Perhaps that’s for the best. It would also be unfair to say Ice Road: Vengeance is unwatchable. The film makes no impression and, for nearly two full hours, offers up one question: Where the hell are the ice roads? Maybe it’s a 4-D chess distraction from how pointless and bland this all is.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
