Liam’s Neeson led ‘The Ice Road’ has made its way into the digital space and depending on your location, it is available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. The disaster prevention action flick puts a group of truck drivers against a ticking clock in a quest to save trapped miners in Manitoba, Canada.
The narrative opens with a secluded diamond mine as it suffers a cave-in in Manitoba, Canada, killing a few miners and trapping 26 of them.
A jobless truck driver, Mike McCann (Neeson), and his PTSD ailed brother, Gurty (Marcus Thomas), come across a call for ice road truckers to transport three wellheads for a rescue operation at the mine, and decide to join in.
The highly risky operation, that includes driving heavy rigs across a frozen ocean road, is led by an experienced driver, Jim Goldenrod (Laurence Fishburne). The trio is then joined by two more members — an insurance risk assessment guy named Varnay and a female driver, Tantoo (Amber Midthunder).
As the group takes on this incredibly lethal journey, mishaps come calling. What follows is a sinister plot in the works that spells potential disaster for the miners as well the ones responsible for rescuing them.
Does the mission succeed?
Here is The Ice Road ending explained in detail:
Disaster strikes
While crossing a bridge, Goldenrod’s engine seizes and he ends up breaking his leg that gets stuck to a cable on his truck. The ice cracks open, consuming the trailer and the injured driver, seeing no means to escape, instructs Tantoo to detach the strap holding him.
She reluctantly agrees and their leader drowns. Varnay then adds fuel to the fire by accusing Tantoo of sabotaging the rig, revealing that lesser the rescue members, the more prize money to split among them.
Tantoo is outraged at the accusations and reveals that she is on this mission to save her brother Cody (Martin Sensmeier), who is one of the trapped miners. The arguments heat up and she pulls out a gun to threaten them but Gurty takes the lead to disarm and tie her up.
Revelation of the rat
In a turn of events, once the trucks are in order, Varnay locks Mike in the back of his trailer and knocks Tantoo unconscious, driving away with her.
He also plants dynamite in the rig he’s left Mike in, but the latter escapes with Gurty’s help. The brothers get rid of the explosives just before they explode, however, Varnay is convinced he’s managed to kill them. In the process, two wellheads are destroyed.
As the rat reaches the mine, he meets up with a man called George Sickle (Matt McCoy) who commends him on a job well done and instructs him to dispose off Tantoo as well.
It is then revealed that the company, Katka, ordered the miners to shut off methane sensors to prevent the mine from shutting down due to safety issues, thus putting their lives at risk. Varnay is a hired hand who is tasked with sabotaging the rescue operation so that the surviving miners cannot oust the company’s misdoings.
Meanwhile Tantoo escapes as Varnay gets bitten by Gurty’s pet rat, and radios the brothers for help. As they reach the place of action, more of Katka’s hired guns show up.
The final showdown
Tantoo manages to throw Varnay off her rig as Mike and Gurty arrive, killing the men pursuing her. Mike jumps onto Varnay’s truck and the two engage in a battle to the death. Elsewhere, Tantoo and Gurty try to ensure that the last remaining wellhead reaches the mine.
Mike manages to kill Varnay as he drives the rig into a patch of ice and jumps out right before it crashes. The truck drowns, taking the main antagonist with it.
Unfortunately, just as Tantoo and Gurty try to cross a suspension bridge, the wires begin to snap and truck starts slipping backwards. As the latter tries to stop it, he gets crushed to death.
Mike and Tantoo are the only ones who survive and succeed in escorting the final wellhead to the mine, rescuing the trapped people. The aftermath of this operation sees Sickle and the Katka CEO, Thomason (Matt Salinger), being arrested by the authorities as the truth comes to light.
A few months later, the surviving duo meets each other at a trucking business which Tantoo now owns. They talk and bid each other farewell as Mike drives away in a brand new rig he bought from the rescue money.
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