HotToastyRag
Michael Caine plays a former British agent with a penchant for jazz, crowded bars, and mysterious women. In his retirement, he owns a very successful nightclub, and when he meets Sean Young, he's smitten by her appeal and puts on the moves. They have a pretty hot-and-heavy romance—as hot and heavy as things get in 1992—but then she invites him to a classy party with lots of dignitaries. It turns out she's married to the American ambassador! What else is she hiding? Blue Ice is an intense thriller with plenty of action scenes to keep the men watching and plenty of romance to keep the women interested. Ian Holm plays a very wicked bad guy, which, since I've only ever seen him in bad guy roles, isn't too much of a stretch. I happen to be a Michael Caine fan, so I was entertained by the film, but from an outsider's perspective who maybe isn't as much of a fan, it's not really the best movie out there. But if you like all his Harry Palmer spy movies, you might want to watch this one to see how he handles retirement!
dariuslanghoff
As a bespectacled spy Michael Caine established a firm reputation as a low-key but determined government agent in FUNERAL IN BERLIN and MILLION DOLLAR BRAIN. Now he is Harry Sanders, a former MI6 agent trying to lead a quiet, unruffled existence as the owner of a seedy jazz club in Soho. Then Stacy, the glamorous wife of an Amnerican diplomat, bumps into his vehicle before moving into his bed.Before you can say "Hellzapoppin", Harry is up to his neck in a murder mystery following Stacy's plea to help in tracing a bothersome lover. The 'lover' turns out to be involved in a shady arms deal. Harry's old mate Detective Osgood is killed after a stakeout. As if things were not bad enough, the Old Bill thinks the whole affair is Harry's fault, and somebody intends to torture him for that ha has learned...There have been dafter plots, but seldom can they have felt so contrived as this. Sean Young seems too remarkably composed to have willingly thrown herself into the arms of a man so down-at-heel as Harry. Caine's talent is in keeping the audience's eyes on him while all the nonsense is going on around him, and he manages to steal all the best quips. The whole picture as such however, is far from being rewarding.
ianlouisiana
Well,hell,I liked it.Sir Michael and Sir Bob having a lot of fun kicking arse and Sir Michael gets to snog Sean Young and nobody takes it at all seriously for heaven's sake.If you're a former spy running a jazz club it's just the sort of thing you might expect to happen to you wouldn't you say? This is a really enjoyable British movie with a good cast all playing within their comfort zones,rather like an end - of season football game with nothing at stake for those involved but personal pride.No one is going to risk breaking a leg,but no one is going to coast either. Miss Young clearly divides opinion but I have always thought her forte was playing women with hidden agendas(viz:-"Red Rock West")and she has a face that hides more than it reveals in most of her movies.Here she does well in a not very believable part as a woman with a hidden agenda (switcherooney). A lot of good British jazzers do their thing quite happily and Sir Michael is quite convincing as an erstwhile Ronnie Scott. This is by no means the train wreck many have made it out to be,but if you don't like jazz you might care to deduct one point.
diorio2001
I had passed an eye over this video sitting on the shelf at the local video store several times. Although I consider myself to be a Michael Caine fan, I neglected to ever rent BLUE ICE, because of poor reviews and ratings. The other day however I was once again at the video store and this time decided to check out this film. I was extremely surprised (in a good way) at BLUE ICE. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. The plot was a little bit hard to swallow, but all spy movies are like that. I thought the cinematography was wonderful and I especially like the intriguing, yet bizarre torture scene montage.Michael Caine played an ex-spy and despite his age and not being in great shape, Sir Michael pulled off a wonderful performance. The movie was so interesting (though confusing at parts) I can honestly say that I wasn't bored for a minute. Sean Young's performance wasn't too impressing, but luckily it wasn't so terrible that it deterred my interest in the movie. Ian Holm and Bob Hoskins some good scenes, but I wish that their parts were bigger.BLUE ICE isn't Michael Caine's best movie, but God knows, it's not his worst either. All-in-all I give BLUE ICE 3 ½ out of 5.
AD
