Liam Neeson just scored a modestly-sized hit with “The Naked Gun” reboot over the summer, and it looks like audiences are starting to discover another of his much more serious action epics. “Ice Road: Vengeance” went direct to streaming in 2025, and it’s climbed Netflix’s top 10 for September 24, topping out in fourth place, which is very impressive for a film with no buzz.

“Ice Road: Vengeance” takes the mostly-not-staged “Ice Road Truckers” and throws in a little bit of “Taken.” A sequel to “The Ice Road,” it sees trucker-turned-hero Mike McCann (Neeson) coping poorly with the death of his brother, Gerty, which took place at the end of the previous film. He carries Gerty’s ashes around with him in his truck, and plans to scatter them from the top of Mount Everest, finding himself on a tour bus heading skyward so that he can put his brother to rest. 

Unfortunately for Mike, he immediately bumps into a group of mercenaries trying to force the building of a dam and eliminate everyone who opposes it. They’re searching for the relative of an opposition member. Soon it becomes Mike’s job to keep the bus from slipping off the ice road while trying to protect the entire busload of people and prevent them from dying. This formula seems to be winning over viewers, but it’s not doing anything for the film’s popularity with critics.

“Ice Road: Vengeance” is not doing well with critics. It’s sitting at only a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 22 reviewers weighing in. Viewers registering their feelings about the film don’t seem to be pleased with it either; audience voting ranks it at only 25% approval, with over 250 fans weighing in. “The Ice Road” itself didn’t do very well with viewers, though not as poorly as “Vengeance”; it pulled in a 43% approval score with critics and a 31% approval score with viewers. A slight improvement, but not much better.

Yet in spite of those lowlights, it looks like the film series is here to stay. Will there be a third film in the “Ice Road” set of movies? That will be a matter of viewership retention numbers. If both films have them, then there’s no reason why the series can’t keep going — trucking ever upward through icy landscapes and fearsome climes.