Icefall Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Icefall Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 23, 2026

The film industry has been trying to turn actor Joel Kinnaman into an action star over the last decade, and nothing’s really taken hold. His last major starring effort was 2023’s “Silent Night,” a John Woo-directed offering of gunplay and explosions that played to empty theaters, but the system isn’t done with Kinnaman yet. He returns to the ways of screen survival in “Icefall,” which is kinda, sorta similar to the plot of 1993’s “Cliffhanger,” but screenwriters George Mahaffey and Steve Isles don’t have the budget to create an epic understanding of criminal activity and high-flying adventure. They simply take the missing cases of money idea and try to create a more reasonably priced actioner featuring a hunt for cash in the cold extremes of Montana. “Icefall” has the ingredients to be junky fun, but director Stefan Ruzowitzky can’t get momentum going, creating a picture that lacks a surprising amount of excitement and danger.

Rhodes (Danny Huston) is the leader of a team of thieves, and they’ve managed to infiltrate an Albanian money room, collecting 20 million dollars in the process. Ready to move the cash to a safe location, the loot is collected in cases and loaded onto a plane crossing a remote section of America. A heavy winter storm triggers a crash, sending the plane and its contents into a frozen lake, and Harlan (Joel Kinnaman) is the first to find the wreckage. A man of the wild, dealing with deep grief over the loss of his wife and child, Harlan collects one of the cases and marches back to society. He’s stopped by Ani (Cara Jade Myers), a Native American game warden who doesn’t trust what she finds, ready to arrest the stranger. However, Harlan and Ani are soon forced to team up to survive when Rhodes sends his team to reclaim the missing money, with top enforcer Drake (DeVaughn Nixon) willing to kill anyone who tries to stop them.

“Icefall” gets off to a strong start with the heist sequence, watching Rhodes’s unit work with explosives and force to find their way into the money room, efficiently handling challenges to collect a fortune. The rest of the story takes place five months after the plane crash, picking up with Ani, a single mother and true professional unwilling to allow others to challenge her authority when it comes to hunting on the reservation, also concerned for ice thickness as seasonal changes have become unpredictable. And there’s Harlan, who has his routine involving fishing, but also finds the money and the plane, putting him in a delicate position as he comes into contact with financial freedom. “Icefall” gets something going with this collision of experiences, and there’s the potential of the financial find, which gets Harlan into trouble after accidentally crossing paths with Ani on the lake.

The writing makes a few curious creative choices, including the addition of Pen (Martin Sensmeier), a member of the gang who’s recently found God, though Rhodes needs his Native American tracking skills and access to the reservation, pulling him back into duty. The screenplay seems like it really wants to do something special with Pen, giving him room to share his divine wisdom, even engaging in a battle of philosophy with Rhodes, but the character is more of a distraction than a contribution to suspense. “Icefall” does eventually get around to a few physical issues, putting Harlan and Ani to work defending themselves from attacks. The pair turn to an animal trap, a bow and arrow, and time in “bear country” to destroy their pursuers, and the villains have their own problems with a truck falling through the ice. It’s not much, but violence does boost the appeal of “Icefall,” giving it something to do.

Icefall Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The image presentation (2.39:1 aspect ratio) for "Icefall" handles details adequately. There's a mild sense of texture on skin surfaces, especially when exploring differences in age. Cold weather clothing maintains fibrousness, along with tribal outfits. The stagebound look of the endeavor is mostly easy to explore, offering dimension with frozen lake events. Authentic location shooting carries acceptable depth, joined by cave exploration. Color is capable, sustaining sharper winter whiteness and blue skies and waters. Costuming delivers varied hues, including the deep greens of the game warden uniform and the livelier primaries of Native American ceremonial additions. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is acceptable. Compression issues are periodic, with banding creeping into view. Mild blockiness is found as well.

Icefall Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA offers clear dialogue exchanges, managing more mumbled delivery from a few of the actors, while softer emotional moments are preserved. Scoring delivers defined instrumentation and dramatic support. Surrounds aren't commanding, but feel out milder atmospherics and underwater action. Low-end handles with weight during violent interactions. Sound effects are sharp.

Icefall Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this release.

Icefall Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The writing doesn't have much of an imagination for action spectacle, and Ruzowitzky is lacking resources to offer the endeavor a tangible sense of peril and cold-weather atmosphere, sticking with a StageCraft-style digital look to outdoor events that's never believable. "Icefall" also hopes to get closer to the main characters, learning about Harlan's Native American wife and his deep-seated woes, and there's the last-act addition of Oz (the late Graham Greene), a local who resents Harlan, hesitant to help the man. The feature has some fights and chases, but it also wants to address Native American concerns and tensions, pulling focus off B-movie entertainment without much dramatic reward. In the end, it feels like two different films are competing for attention in "Icefall," and despite the surefire premise of a manhunt in the wintery wild, the picture has limited energy, creating a lackluster viewing experience.