'The Ice Road' Delivers a Inside Look at What Happens During a Mine Collapse
Published June 25 2021, 4:55 p.m. ET
The latest thriller to emerge from the minds at Netflix is an action-packed story starring Liam Neeson called The Ice Road. The basic gist of it all is that Liam plays a truck driver tasked with a seriously difficult drive to transport materials needed for a rescue from a collapsed mine. The ensuing actions seem intense and provide countless points where Liam, along with the film's other stars, risk life and limb.
So, many viewers are asking themselves the same question: Is The Ice Road based on a true story, how much of it is inspired in reality, and do these types of terrible situations actually happen? Here's everything we know about the new film.
Is 'The Ice Road' a true story? Not exactly, but it's based on real-life situations.
Although the situation the characters face in The Ice Road is horrific and seems extremely real, the actual plot of the story is made up. Nonetheless, countless similar mining incidents to the one depicted in the film occur yearly, and often, some pretty serious measures are taken to attempt a safe rescue of those trapped underground.
For example, the premise of having to snake massive amounts of pipe down into the tunnel for oxygen flow is very real, as a collapsed mine has only a limited amount of breathable air trapped within it. The overlaps between fact and fiction in The Ice Road help foster the notion that many plot points are based in reality, but the particular details in the movie didn't ever actually happen in real life.
Beyond showcasing how downright scary it is to be trapped in a mine fighting for your life, the movie does an amazing job at touching on the perilous job that ice truckers, particularly those working in and around Alaska, have to deal with while working.
Between cracking sheets of ice, snow-covered roads, and the ever-present risk of jackknifing, truckers in these environments deal with arguably some of the worst conditions on Earth, and Liam does well at establishing those risks in the film.
The film also draws inspiration from notable works.
During a candid chat with Variety, film creator Jonathan Hensleigh detailed his vision for the movie and how he actually drew inspiration for the plot from several other notable works.
According to Jonathan, the film is inspired by two major sources. Though he didn't elaborate on why, Jonathan mentioned taking inspiration from 1953's The Wages of Fear, a film about four men who are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment in a decrepit village in South America. He also cited Of Mice and Men, which Jonathan admitted was integral in helping him develop the relationship dynamic between characters Mike and Gurty throughout the film.
Overall, The Ice Road has received plenty of solid critical reception so far and is one of the most talked-about projects recently put out on Netflix. Catch the new film on the streaming service now!