Liam Neeson’s 114-Minute Action Sequel Was Savaged by Critics — Now It’s Suddenly One of the Biggest Movies in the World

Liam Neeson has spent years proving that even the most straightforward action thriller can become compulsive viewing when he’s at the center of it.

Now one of the actor’s most poorly reviewed recent movies is getting an unexpected second life.

Ice Road: Vengeance largely slipped under the radar when it arrived in 2025, earning brutal reviews and becoming one of the lowest-rated projects of Neeson’s career.

More than a year later, audiences are suddenly finding it on streaming.

The 114-minute action sequel has climbed to No. 6 on HBO Max’s global most-watched movies chart, putting it ahead of several considerably better-known titles.

For a film sitting at just 16% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, that’s quite the turnaround.

Liam Neeson Returns as Mike McCann

Ice Road: Vengeance follows Neeson’s 2021 action thriller The Ice Road and brings him back as truck driver Mike McCann.

This time, Mike travels to Nepal to scatter the ashes of his brother Gurty, who died during the events of the previous movie.

But what begins as a deeply personal journey quickly puts him in danger again.

McCann joins a tour group traveling across a treacherous mountain pass, only to discover that another passenger is being targeted because of his opposition to local corruption.

Mercenaries infiltrate the journey and hijack the bus.

McCann is suddenly forced back into survival mode, fighting to protect the passengers and get them through the mountains alive.

It’s exactly the kind of role audiences have come to associate with Neeson: an ordinary-looking man placed in an extraordinary situation who turns out to be considerably more formidable than his enemies expected.

This Time, Neeson Has to Carry Much of the Movie Himself

The original Ice Road surrounded Neeson with a recognizable supporting cast including Laurence Fishburne, Amber Midthunder and Holt McCallany.

The sequel doesn’t have the same star power.

Marcus Thomas returns through flashbacks as Gurty, but much of the burden falls directly on Neeson.

And while the screenplay has been criticized as thin, his familiar tough-guy screen presence remains one of the film’s biggest attractions.

The movie isn’t trying to reinvent the action genre.

Instead, it offers dangerous roads, spectacular landscapes, mercenaries, close-quarters confrontations and Neeson once again attempting to keep innocent people alive.

For viewers searching for an uncomplicated action movie, that formula appears to be finding an audience.

Critics Were Far Less Convinced

Ice Road: Vengeance initially received a short theatrical run before moving to digital platforms in July 2025.

The reaction was rough.

According to the figures cited in the report, the sequel currently holds just 16% from critics and 24% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, placing it among Neeson’s lowest-rated films.

That might have been enough for the movie to disappear into the enormous catalog of streaming action thrillers.

Instead, something very different happened.

Once the film became available through subscription streaming, its fortunes began changing.

From Overlooked Sequel to Global Streaming Hit

The latest streaming chart provides the most surprising chapter in the movie’s story.

At the time of the reported ranking, Ice Road: Vengeance had reached No. 6 among HBO Max’s most-watched movies worldwide.

It still trails titles including Supergirl and Pearl, but has climbed above recognizable movies such as Interview with the Vampire, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Scream 7.

That’s an impressive result for a sequel that generated little excitement during its original release.

It also highlights something that has repeatedly benefited overlooked movies in the streaming era: theatrical performance and critical reception don’t necessarily determine where a film’s story ends.

Sometimes all a movie needs is to land in front of the right audience.

Liam Neeson Remains an Action-Movie Draw

Neeson’s transformation into one of Hollywood’s most dependable action stars began long ago, with Taken helping establish the persona that would carry through movies including Unknown and The Commuter.

Not every one of those projects has been critically successful.

But viewers continue to respond to the formula.

Ice Road: Vengeance may be another example.

Its reviews suggest few critics regard it as essential cinema, yet its sudden streaming success shows that plenty of people are willing to spend nearly two hours watching Neeson face impossible odds one more time.

A 16% critics’ score couldn’t kill it, and an underwhelming original release didn’t bury it. More than a year later, Liam Neeson’s overlooked 114-minute sequel has unexpectedly fought its way back — this time as one of the world’s most-watched streaming movies.