Liam Neeson as a grisly action hero forced into fighting a gang of bad guys? Yup, he’s done it yet again – and this time it involves lots of driving too.
But Ice Road: Vengeance just looks bad, there’s no other way of saying it. The plot is obvious and done to death, the acting is basic at best, and with a script to match – plus the special effects look like they could’ve been done better on a three-year-old iPhone.
Yet! All of this can be fun. As a Bad Movie Night contender Vengeance is right up there, chock full of clichés that’ll make you laugh. Like the original, The Ice Road, from 2021, it’s bad enough to be appreciated.
While Amazon Prime Video is one of the best streaming services right now, Liam Neeson’s latest movie adds to its vast selection of clangers, frankly. But, as T3’s Tech Editor wrote, even if A-lister Neeson can’t save it, we all still love our plucky hero.
Ice Road: Vengeance trailer
What’s Ice Road: Vengeance about?
The story, not that you ever end up caring too much, is about a grieving ice road trucker, Mike McCann (Neeson), who travels to Nepal to scatter his late brother’s ashes.
He can also drive a tour bus, one that will inevitably involve going down an icy road near Mount Everest. And this skill turns out to be handy, as he gets mixed up with bad guys. But McCann can handle himself, becsause of course he can!
What follows are some physics-defying moves, punctuated by pixellated special effect attempts that make you wonder how many more of these Liam Neeson has left in him.
Considering this is written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh – who wrote Armageddon – it’s a shame Vengeance isn’t just more involving. Then again, is that just a rose-tinted-goggles viewpoint on Ben Affleck’s classic? Probably…
How well-rated is Ice Road: Vengeance?
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As you might expect, having read this far, Ice Road: Vengeance has monumentally bad reviews, with just 17% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.
Viewers’ figures aren’t much better either, with only 28% on the same site – likely boosted by Bad Movie Night fans seeing the lighter side of a so-bad-it’s-good movie.
Vengeance is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, although if you can’t last the whole thing, there are lots of great shows to watch on Prime in September and beyond.
