Cheap Looking & Unconvincing
Summary
Despite some interesting characters and enjoyable action moments, Icefall is let down by how cheap it looks with everything looking like it’s shot on a soundstage which takes away any excitement or immersion.
Plot: The story revolves around a young Native American game warden who captures a notorious poacher only to learn that the poacher is aware of the location of a plane carrying millions of dollars that has crashed in a frozen lake.
Review: From the trailers Icefall just looked like a poor man’s Cliffhanger but after watching it I wouldn’t even say that.
I think Joel Kinnaman is one of my favourite actors working today and he’s the only reason I watched this. Icefall looks like it has a budget of 2 dollars with practically every scene looking like it takes place on a soundstage with some very unconvincing greenscreen used throughout. This prevented me from getting immersed fully which is a shame as it has some decent performances and I liked that most of the characters were not all just one note.
Joel plays “Poacher” Harlan, a man who wanders the snowy wastelands ever since his wife died. It’s the only place he feels like he can connect with her and he has essentially lost all purpose. When he discovers a case full of money his life is transformed as the true owners want it back and won’t give up easily; he has to work with game warden Ani (Cara Jade Myers) who at first sees Harlan as a threat, but soon realizes they have bigger problems.
At around 90 minutes Icefall is well paced and the highlight is Danny Huston who plays the lead villain, Rhodes; he’s ruthless and will stop at nothing to get his money back. He is pretty much a cartoon bad guy but the rest are more interesting and feel like real humans where they actually look out for each other.
The best scene is a fight where a dude ends up with a bear trap on his head but the majority of the action is ruined by poor visuals.
Graham Green shows up in one of his final roles and despite looking frail he still is as magnetic as ever and his character has his own reasons for not liking Harlan.
Overall, Icefall has some interesting ideas and characters (and a few awesome kills) but the sheer lack of budget means it looks and sounds like everything takes place on a set which ruins a lot of the excitement or tension. Watch Cliffhanger again instead.