Ice Road: Vengeance

Last updated

Ice Road: Vengeance
Ice Road, Vengeance poster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh
Written byJonathan Hensleigh
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Tom Stern
Edited by Luke Doolan
Music by Michael Yezerski
Production
companies
  • CODE Entertainment
  • ShivHans Pictures
  • Envision Media Arts
Distributed by Vertical
Release date
  • June 27, 2025 (2025-06-27)
Running time
113 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Ice Road: Vengeance is a 2025 American action thriller film written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. It is the direct sequel to The Ice Road (2021). Liam Neeson returns from the first film, alongside Fan Bingbing, Bernard Curry, Salim Fayad and Geoff Morrell. The film follows an ice-road truck driver who travels to the Himalayas to scatter his brother's ashes where he must fend off mercenaries.

Contents

The film was released in the United States in select theaters on June 27, 2025, and received negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Mike McCann, a seasoned ice-road trucker, is grappling with survivor's guilt following the death of his younger brother, Gurty, who perished in the events of The Ice Road . To honor Gurty's final wish, Mike travels to Nepal to scatter his ashes atop Mount Everest.

In Kodari, a local opposition figure Ganesh Rai opposes a construction of hydroelectric dam in the village, which is proposed by Rudra Yash, who works on behalf of corrupt industrial company. Ganesh's father is killed when one of the Rudra's mercenaries pushes his bus off a cliff. He reports it to the police as an accident. Upon learning, Ganesh's son Vijay realizes that his father will be next and hides him in the isolated cabin in Annapurna Highlands. Arriving in Kathmandu, Mike partners with Dhani, a skilled local Everest guide. They join a group of passengers aboard the "Kiwi Express", driven by spirited Australian bus driver, Spike, a tour bus navigating the perilous "Road to the Sky," a narrow, high-altitude mountain pass. An American professor Evan Myers and his tech-savvy daughter Starr also board the bus.

After Vijay boards the bus, two mercenaries – Jeet and Yug – hijack the bus in attempt to kidnap Vijay. Mike punctures the tire to force the bus to stop at Kodari and kills Yug, and Dhani knocks off and restrains Jeet. There, police officer Shankar arrives, supposedly to arrest Jeet and rescue Vijay; however, Shankar is actually on Rudra's payroll. Vijay is brought to the nearby building where Rudra tortures for the whereabouts of his father. Realizing something amiss, Mike, Dhani and Myers investigate the building where Rudra kills Myers. Mike and Dhani rescue Vijay before escaping on the repaired bus but Mike and Spike are injured in the process.

Spike orders everyone to leave him on the side of the road, not wanting to die in his own bus, and Mike leaves an AK-12 for him. Shortly, Spike shoots at Rudra's mercenaries convoy and is killed. After traversing through the dangerous steep road and having their bus damaged and finally repaired, they arrive at Annapurna Highlands where Vijay reunites his father and Mike collapses from the injuries. Dhani treats Mike, kills another corrupt policeman who finds them, and teaches Starr the fighting skills. The next day, Mike recovers and leave Annapurna Highlands together. While the bus crosses the gorge via crane, Rudra and his men arrive and Ganesh is killed while operating the crane to allow them to escape. The mercenaries continue their pursuit and after crossing the China–Nepal border, they kill Jeet and Shankar, and push Rudra off the cliff.

Later, Vijay announces that the villagers will have both electricity and the river. They go their separate ways and Mike finally scatters his brother's ashes to the Himalayas. Mike bids farewell at Dhani at the airport and sees a rope in the store display, reminiscing his moment when Gurty and Mike having a rock climb together. Mike goes back outside to make a one last glance with Dhani.

Cast

Production

In April 2023, it was announced a sequel titled The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky would be produced with star Liam Neeson and writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh set to return. [2] Principal photography began in January 2024 in Victoria, Australia with Bernard Curry, Geoff Morrell, and Grace O'Sullivan joining the cast. [3] In February, Fan Bingbing joined the cast as the co-lead of the film. [4]

The small town of Walhalla in Victoria served as the double for the Nepal i location used in the film. [5]

In June, it was reported that Vertical had acquired the distribution rights, and that the film had been retitled to Ice Road: Vengeance. [6]

Release

Ice Road: Vengeance was released in the United States in select theaters on June 27, 2025, and was released on video on demand on July 1, 2025. [6] The movie was released on Netflix on September 15, 2025. [7]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 21% of 14 critics' reviews are positive. [8] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 37 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [9] [10]

References

  1. Scheck, Frank (June 26, 2025). "'Ice Road: Vengeance' Review: Liam Neeson Returns for a Forgettable Sequel to an Already Forgotten Action Flick". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  2. Wiseman, Andreas (April 27, 2023). "Liam Neeson Heads For The Himalayas In Action Sequel 'Ice Road 2: Road To The Sky'; The Solution & CAA Media Finance Launch For Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  3. Frater, Patrick (January 16, 2024). "Liam Neeson, Jonathan Hensleigh Take 'The Ice Road 2' Shoot to Australia". Variety . Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  4. Grobar, Matt (February 7, 2024). "Fan Bingbing To Star Opposite Liam Neeson In 'Ice Road 2: Road To The Sky'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. McGuiness, Anna (December 7, 2023). "Liam Neeson movie to film in Walhalla Victoria". canberratimes.com.au. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Stephan, Katcy; Donnelly, Matt (June 16, 2025). "Vertical Acquires U.S. Rights to Jonathan Hensleigh's Action Thriller 'Ice Road: Vengeance' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Archived from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
  7. "Liam Neeson Action Thriller 'Ice Road: Vengeance' Sets Netflix Streaming Debut". What's on Netflix. August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  8. "Ice Road: Vengeance". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  9. "Ice Road: Vengeance". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  10. "Ice Road: Vengeance Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved July 14, 2025.