It took just 53 minutes for the terms “ice” and “road” to be mentioned together in a single sentence, marking the two most significant and influential words from the first film! Ice Road: Vengeance, or as the title card suggests, Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky, shifts from the dreary gray skies and heavy snowfall, along with actual frozen bodies of water, to bright sunshine and light snow with hardly any ice to contend with.
In the original, Mike was hired as an ice road trucker tasked with delivering a shipment to rescue a group of trapped miners, but this storyline is far less engaging in every way. This film on Flixtor vip presents an action thriller that follows a political agenda focused on killing to acquire land.
Swapping the semi-truck for a passenger tour bus slows the pace considerably this time. Any trace of originality from the first film has been removed, resulting in a standard action adventure, with Neeson returning in name only.
Liam Neeson’s Mike, on a quest to scatter his brother’s ashes on Mount Everest, teams up with Bingbing Fan’s Dhani – an unexpectedly tough character with varying acting skills. The bond between Mike and his brother Gurdy is irreplaceable, and Dhani falls short even when compared to Amber Midthunder’s Tantoo.
Regarding performances, this film fails to deliver anything noteworthy. In fact, most performances come across as rigid and devoid of genuine emotion – particularly critical when a parental figure passes away with minimal immediate sorrow. To clarify, I’m not suggesting that a character mourning a loss should be lamenting throughout the entire film, but it’s all about the emotional depth.