Plot: A man from Los Angeles, California gets a job as ecologist in Alaska’s wilderness. He takes part in arresting and transporting a trapper wanted for murder. But the trapper, Ben Corbett (Rutger Hauer), and his friends will do anything to free him.
I remember seeing this once years ago and enjoyed it mostly due to the fact that I love any movie that takes place in the wilderness with people trying to survive. Arctic Blue stars Rutger Hauer and Dylan Walsh with the title meaning the depression or Seasonal Affective Disorders people have in Alaska due to the long winters.
This doesn’t really much to do with the plot as the movie has Hauer playing a charismatic villain called Ben Corbett, a Trapper who kills someone in self-defense (kinda) and Walsh’s Ecologist is requested to bring him to prison. The two get in a plane which Ben crashes and they are forced to work together in order to survive. Despite the Alaskan setting the story feels a little like 3:10 to Yuma especially the finale which has Ben’s gang coming after them to rescue him.
Arctic Blue is around 90 minutes long and this is one of Hauer’s more underappreciated roles; it’s hardly up there with Roy Batty but Ben is more complex than we first expect and is a far more interesting character rather than just a villain. Dylan Walsh was always good at playing these kinds of everyman roles and the scenes with him and Hauer are the highlights.
In terms of action there are some shoot-outs, an explosion and some fighting but we’re not talking The Raid here. It’s still well paced and like I said, any movie feature wilderness, wolves or coyotes immediately has my seal of approval. I can watch movies like this every day and I wish we still got to see more of them today.
Overall, Arctic Blue isn’t a classic but I have a genuine soft spot for it mostly due to Rutger Hauer’s interesting character, the Alaskan scenery and the engaging story. There is enough action to keep things moving too making this a fun watch.