Veteran actor Liam Neeson returns to the screen in one of his last action roles (before retiring from the genre) in the intense and visually stunning film ‘The Ice Road’.
Written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and set against the impressive, yet deadly beauty of Canada’s frozen landscapes; the film follows a team of ice road big rig drivers as they drive across a frozen ocean to deliver life-saving equipment to a team of miners trapped inside a collapsed diamond mine. Racing against time and the harsh, constantly changing elements the team soon discovers that nature may not be their only enemy on this mission.
An entertaining mix of action and drama, ‘The Ice Road’ unfolds at a much slower pace than many of Liam’s previous films and while it lacks the non-stop action fans have become accustomed to seeing, director Jonathan does a brilliant job of building the tension slowly, ensuring the audience never loses interest. Strong script writing brings to life a cast of emotionally charged and realistically flawed characters that are easy to connect with; while the film's use of wide, sweeping landscape shots highlight the extent of the danger the ice road drivers face and set the scene for more than a few pulse-raising moments.
Liam delivers a stellar performance as Mike McCann, a down-on-his-luck big rig driver recruited to the rescue mission and his stern style of acting perfectly captures the demeanour of a man who has lived a hard life. Yet underneath Mike’s gruff exterior lies a fragile heart and Liam’s ability to offset his character's edginess with moments of emotional frailty endears Mike to the audience. Marcus Thomas delivers an equally loveable performance as Mike’s sweet natured brother Gurty McCann while Amber Midthunder brings a hint of girl power to the cast in her role as the tough-as-nails rig driver Tantoo. Laurence Fishburne and Benjamin Walker round off the talented cast as Jim Goldenrod and Tom Varnay.
Having grown up in a warmer climate, it is hard to imagine that there are individuals who willingly risk their lives driving Canada’s ice roads and the film certainly left me with a new appreciation for the bravery and determination of those people. A timely reminder of the fragile balance between man and nature.
‘The Ice Road’ is in cinemas 12 August.
