Review by Jon Donnis
Liam Neeson returns as Mike McCann in Ice Road: Vengeance, a sequel that trades icy highways for the dizzying slopes of the Himalayas. While the title suggests more frozen trucking action, the film steers in a different direction. This time, McCann is in Nepal to scatter his late brother's ashes on Mount Everest. What starts as a personal pilgrimage turns into yet another fight for survival.
The setup is quick. McCann joins a tourist bus bound for high-altitude trails, guided by Dhani (Fan Bingbing), a quietly capable mountain expert. They're joined by a group of hikers, including an American professor and his daughter, a cheerful bus driver named Spike, and a local teenager named Vijay. When mercenaries hijack the bus with plans to kidnap Vijay, McCann finds himself in familiar territory. It's not long before fists fly, engines roar, and a land dispute turns into a full-blown rescue mission.
Despite the change of location, Neeson sticks to what he knows. He doesn't stretch much, but still delivers the kind of reliable, gruff performance audiences expect. Fan Bingbing, though, is the standout. Her physicality and screen presence add energy to scenes that would otherwise feel routine. She handles the action well, carries emotional weight when needed, and balances Neeson's stoicism with more grounded urgency.
The setting is breathtaking. Towering peaks, winding roads and remote villages offer something visually fresh, even when the script sticks to genre basics. The contrast between natural beauty and looming danger helps keep the momentum going, even when the film hits slower patches.
That said, Ice Road: Vengeance doesn't really deliver on its premise. The actual "ice road" element is minimal. There's a single short stretch involving frozen terrain late in the film, but for the most part, the action takes place on dusty mountain passes. A few moments involving the bus navigating cliff-edge roads offer tension, but these scenes are brief and often undercut by questionable visual effects. The opening sequence in particular suffers from rough CGI that makes the danger feel artificial rather than thrilling.
The film feels a bit too long for what it's trying to do. It starts to sag around the middle, stuck in repetitive conversations and small standoffs that don't really go anywhere. Cutting some of that would've helped it move with more purpose.
Still, there's something watchable about it. The mix of international actors adds variety, and while the story is predictable, it stays just engaging enough. If you go in expecting a grounded thriller with modest ambitions, you'll probably find enough here to pass the time.
Ice Road: Vengeance might not be as icy or sharp as its title suggests, but the scenery is worth the ride. Fan Bingbing makes a strong impression, and Neeson, even when coasting, still knows how to command the frame. It's not essential viewing, but it does the job for a quiet evening when you want something familiar and easy to follow.
I score Ice Road: Vengeance a 6 out of 10. It's decent enough for a quiet evening, but it won't stick with you for long.
Out Now on Apple TV - https://apple.co/3ZWj0V6
