Writer/Director Jonathan Hensleigh gives us the 2025 film Ice Road: Vengeance. It’s not bad, but it’s also not good. There is literally one moment that stands out. More about that later. The film itself is full of Hollywood tropes and cliches. Moving the action to Kathmandu doesn’t help matters with a script that relies on old plot devices and stereotypes.
Ice Road: Vengeance Story
Mike’s brother dies and his final request is to have his ashes scattered on Everest. Mike travels there. He and his guide hop on the bus headed to the base camp. Mercenaries hijack the bus and they then head to Nepal. The trip turns into a fight for survival and a rescue mission.
The Cast
Liam Neeson is Mike McCann.
Bingbing Fan is Dhani Yangchen.
Marcus Thomas is Gurty.
Grace O’Sullivan is Starr Myers.
Saksham Sharma is Vijay Rai.
Bernard Curry is Professor Myers.
Geoff Morrell is Spike.
Mahesh Jadu is Rudra Yash.
Amelia Bishop is Jeet.
*A special shout out to Geoff Morrell as the Kiwi driver Spike. He manages to shine in a role that has very little screen time overall. Morrell is memorable, even before his “last stand.”*
Let’s Talk Ice Road: Vengeance
The film can be seen as “Die Hard on a Bus.” *There have been quite a number of Die Hard imitators, 2024’s Carry On being a good example of this. Or conversely, any Steven Seagal film.* The main problem with this scenario, where Liam Neeson saves most of the passengers from mercenaries, is his age. At three years older than this reviewer, he is 70 according to IMDb, Neeson is getting a bit long in the tooth to play “action man.”
To be fair, he carries his age much better than I’m carrying mine. Neeson, as Mike McCann still packs a pretty convincing punch. The one stand out moment in the film is that long bus fight. Fights actually. This is the standout moment I spoke of in the opening of this review.
BingBing Fan and Neeson fight the mercenaries very well. Kudos to stunt coordinators Warwick Sadler and Paramjeet Singh for making the fights look pretty darn good. *It also helps that the script allows for Neeson’s age restrictions.*
Ice Road Sort of Works
Ice Road: Vengeance works after a fashion. The long bus sequences where the little band of heroes fight off the baddies does work quite well. It is here that Amelia Bishop and Mahesh Jadu shine as the mercenaries intent on killing everyone on the moving vehicle. Of course, these scenes are also heavily reliant on stereotypes, cliches and tropes. However, action is action, after all, and the desperate bus fight is the only real highlight of the film.
The Verdict
Despite being a huge Liam Neeson fan, and now a fan of BingBing Fan, Ice Road: Vengeance only earns 3 stars. There is nothing really new here. The setting of the Himalayas is a nice touch, as is the Chinese connection. In the end though, it does not really move things along that well. The film is streaming on Netflix right now. Head on over and see what you think. Should Liam concentrate more on the comedic aspects of his career? Or, can he still pull off the action man movies. Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
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