Against the Ice

Name: Against the Ice
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History
Released: March 2, 2022
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 49
Cast: Charles Dance, Diarmaid Murtagh, Ed Speleers, Frankie Wilson, Gísli Örn Garðarsson

2022

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Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Ratings

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6.0

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6.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Ratings

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Against The Ice

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): March 2, 2022 | TV-MA

Starring: Charles Dance, Diarmaid Murtagh, Ed Speleers, Frankie Wilson, Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Heida Reed, Joe Cole, Lin Gallagher, Nick Jameson, Nikolaj Coster Waldau, Sam Redford, Þorsteinn Bachmann

Summary: In 1909, Denmark’s Arctic Expedition led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was attempting to disprove the United States’ claim to Northeast Greenland. This claim was based on the assumption that Greenland was broken up into two different pieces of land. Leaving his crew behind with the ship, Mikkelsen embarks on a journeyIn 1909, Denmark’s Arctic Expedition led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was attempting to disprove the United States’ claim to Northeast Greenland. This claim was based on the assumption that Greenland was broken up into two different pieces of land. Leaving his crew behind with the ship, Mikkelsen embarks on a journey across the ice with his inexperienced crew member, Iver Iversen (Joe Cole). The two men succeed in finding the proof that Greenland is one island, but returning to the ship takes longer and is much harder than expected. Battling extreme hunger, fatigue and a polar bear attack, they finally arrive to find their ship crushed in the ice and the camp abandoned. Hoping to be rescued, they now must fight to stay alive. As the days grow longer, their mental hold on reality starts to fade, breeding mistrust and paranoia, a dangerous cocktail in their fight for survival. … Expand

Director: Peter Flinth

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, History

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

RogerEbert.com Simon Abrams

Mar 2, 2022

Against the Ice delivers all the delirious period drama thrills and survival horror angst that you could want from a movie with that title. Read full review

The Guardian Benjamin Lee

Mar 2, 2022

Against the Ice is a Danish story flattened for a global audience. Read full review

Screen Rant Nadir Samara

Mar 11, 2022

Against the Ice is a searing portrayal of the cost to explore in the early 20th century. Read full review

Fionnuala Halligan

Feb 23, 2022

A soft-edged, stolid blend of gorgeous geographical authenticity with a global-facing English-speaking cast whose accents range from Joe Cole’s Brit to co-producer, co-writer and leading man Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s mid-Atlantic purr. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Mar 2, 2022

Veteran Danish director Peter Flinth (“Beatles” and “Nobel’s Last Will” were his) delivers a film that feels approved by its co-writer and star in terms of thoroughness, but that lumbers as it passes from one waypoint to the next in the standard “alone in the Arctic” narrative. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Mar 2, 2022

Forget “The Terror,” here comes “The Tedium.” Read full review

David Rooney

Feb 22, 2022

In the end, the most remarkable thing about Against the Ice is that a real-life story of two men at the mercy of the unforgiving elements, of hunger and illness, possible attack and encroaching madness, can be so curiously deprived of tension. Read full review

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User Reviews

Timmut

Mar 6, 2022

Excellent visual component. Nice actors. In general, this movie is great for an evening pastime.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

RevanJJ

Mar 9, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is one of the most accurate adaptations of true events I think I’ve ever seen, especially on Netflix. Really gripping. It’s amazing how closely they followed the true story. Except for the dogs which the captain wrote were “beloved” and in the movie the men are pretty callous to them. Unsure why they made that change. They only ate them on the return and only once the other dogs had attacked another out of their own starvation and it was injured so badly it would’ve died anyway. They became ill after eating it.

Also, the entire return was done in the dark as the day night cycle there is months of day and then months of night. Not like our traditional 12 hours of day/night we have in most places. Other than those two inaccuracies(which I think would’ve made the film better if they’d been in it), I think this was great. It showed what they truly went through and what that does to a man. Great acting and the UHD version is beautiful. Very well done. For those who haven’t, I recommended the book which is a firsthand account written by the Captain and in those days they were very meticulous about firsthand accounts.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

koen200792

Dec 26, 2022

I love slow tempo of this movie but if you don't - it's probably not for you.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ProfAmateur

Mar 3, 2022

Can recommend. Try it out if you are in the mood for a drama. Was neither crazy good but also not bad.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Ralfbergs

Jun 20, 2022

The story it is based on of course is intriguing and interesting, but in movie format feels like something is missing. It feels a bit boring at times - I think they made it because the story of course is fascinating and trying to rely on it, not thinking that in movie it does mostly lookThe story it is based on of course is intriguing and interesting, but in movie format feels like something is missing. It feels a bit boring at times - I think they made it because the story of course is fascinating and trying to rely on it, not thinking that in movie it does mostly look like they only walking and maybe you don't feel the dramatization at times. It is decent movie, but not memorable enough, I think books it is based on would be better.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Mar 26, 2022

Against the Ice is a typical production that has a fascinating true story that would have been interesting to read in a history book, but didn't necessarily need to be made into a film, and the results prove it.

Faced with a considerable lack of options, the film stalls when there isAgainst the Ice is a typical production that has a fascinating true story that would have been interesting to read in a history book, but didn't necessarily need to be made into a film, and the results prove it.

Faced with a considerable lack of options, the film stalls when there is nowhere to go and the last 40 minutes are unproductive and exhausting.
Therefore, its third act is mediocre and that leads to a more than unsatisfactory conclusion.

The performances of the two main actors are solid, but that only helps to keep the film from going completely off the rails.

Modestly average and that hardly gives it the arguments to deserve your attention.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

jackiedd

Mar 4, 2022

Against the Ice wanted us to take it seriously but it was hard to do so with the amateurish writing and lagging runtime.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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