Movie Review: Ice 2020 (2011)

Ice 2020 a.k.a. Ice (2011) - Eng/NZ - Sci-Fi/Disaster Movie - TV Movie

Directed by Nick Copus

Starring Richard Roxburgh, Frances O'Connor, Brooke Williams, Claire Forlani, Ben Cross, Erin Mullally, Sam Neill, Patrick Bergin, Stephen Moyer, Simon Callow

An entertaining movie despite its 3 hour runtime that may well be even more germane in its message in this Trump era of politics.

In the very near future amid an energy crisis on a global scale with billionaire energy industrialists looking to tap the arctic oil reserves, environmental scientist Thom Archer warns that the drilling is causing the warming of arctic waters and will cause the melting of the Greenland ice sheet which would collapse the gulf stream and lead to an ice age in the northern hemisphere. His warnings fall on deaf ears, especially those of the corporation drilling in the arctic who will stop at nothing, even eminent global catastrophe, to hush him.

This is a two-part British mini-series that aired in 2011. We have seen and heard in the past protests about building borders most obvious outside of England in Pink Floyd's album aptly titled The Wall. The near future world of Ice 2020 focuses on England and a tyrannical immigration policy on those fleeing to England for mere survival due to the effects of global warming having made much of southern Europe uninhabitable due to the increase in temperatures. In an ironic twist, the oncoming ice age swiftly overtaking England forces its population to flee.

Though released in 2011, this movie may be more germane today with a new American president on the frontier who is all about borders, big corporations, billionaire friends, and doing away with environmental protections. No, I'm not saying this movie is what will happen in the future; it's a look at a possibility that is much accelerated and exaggerated for the purpose of giving the viewer something to think about. After all, if you keep slamming the door in someone's face when they need help, how do you expect them to be there for you when you need help?

On the technical and artistic front of the movie, Ice 2020 plays like other British mini-series I've seen. The acting is good, the special effects vary from good to cheesy, the story also varies from good to cheesy, and it is pumped full of social commentary. 

Kudos go to Sam Neill for once again being pure evil in a movie, though I understand he is quite the opposite in real life. It's almost dead on the same character he played in Daybreakers (2009), except this time he's in a good movie. Oh yes, that was cheap shot at Daybreakers and I'm so proud of myself. Ben Cross, you may remember him as Barnabas Collins in that short lived reboot of Dark Shadows in 1991, gives a fine performance, which he typically does from what I've seen. Additionally Richard Roxburgh carries the movie as the lead character with a devoted and passionate performance while Brooke Williams gives an emotional performance as his daughter.

My Rating: 4 Fingers

You can get Ice 2020 on a Region 2/PAL DVD or Blu-ray which mean you need a DVD player with a built-in PAL converter, though it will play on your computer with a DVD or Blu-ray enabled drive. Or you can do like I did and find it on YouTube; though not quite DVD and certainly not Blu-ray quality.

Other movies you may want to check out are Absolute Zero and The Day After Tomorrow.

Toxic Fletch