Instant Favorite.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Seductive undercover FBI agent Vanessa (well played by the strikingly lovely, sultry, dark-haired knockout Joanna Pacula) is having an affair with an adulterous married up and coming politician. The sleazy politico wants to terminate the relationship. Vanessa and Hiz Honor the scumbag have a fight, which accidentally results in the jerk's untimely demise. Vanessa hires the chatty, gregarious Ben (a solid and charming performance by Michael Nouri), a down on his luck aspiring novelist who just barely ekes out a living as a cab driver, to haul her to Seattle. Vanessa offers Ben five grand and since Ben's up to his eyeballs in debt he gladly obliges. Naturally, there's a serious glitch: Vanessa's shady, ruthless superior Quinn (a typically steely and redoubtable turn by the always commanding Michael Ironside) doggedly pursues the pair with the sole malevolent intent of killing them both.Neill Fearnley's sturdy, capable direction ensures that "Black Ice" is a perfectly enjoyable and entertaining chase thriller. The pacing drags at first, but thankfully picks up speed and momentum once Quinn decides to give chase, with expertly sustained tension and the taut, compelling narrative successfully holding the viewer's interest throughout. Moreover, the chemistry between Pacula and Nouri is warm, funny and appealing, scoring points with some fine, witty dialogue and several cool quirky touches of offbeat humor. Technically, the film's up to par: David Geddes' crisp, smooth cinematography and Amin Bhatia's moody, bluesy, liberally laced with scintillating saxophone score are both quite tasty. Mickey Jones cameos as Nouri's cranky foul-mouthed boss; he gets wasted by Ironside. (Jones and Ironside previously acted together on the short-lived "V" TV series.) Although nothing truly special, this admittedly modest little item still cuts it as a nicely satisfying and proficiently executed diversion.

Good and strong performances from the three leads, holds up a rather weak script. This is certainly no thriller, but more like a chase movie. The fanciful plot, or lack of it, needed a bit more construction on the bones. It just could have been a lot better.

Strong performances from Joanna Pacula, Michael Nouri, and Michael Ironside overcome a weak script. Other pluses are the beautifully photographed winter scenery, and the haunting score from Amin Bhatia. There is a lack of suspense in this movie, but the performances of the three leads held my attention.

Considering this is supposed to be something of an intriguing mystery thriller, it raises little in the way of suspense. So, it's a little surprising that the film has the capacity to hold your interest until the end, which is disappointedly bland.Anyway, the film stars Joanna Pacula as an undercover agent of some sort, who contrives to accidentally kill her target after having sex with him. Hitching a ride in Nick Mancuso's taxi, she arrives at the airport only to find her boss (Michael Ironside) has received orders to kill her, as to leave no trace of the crime.This TV movie hangs on the fact that Mancuso doesn't know who or what Pacula is until late on, although the viewer knows fairly quickly. Still, performances are more than adequate and Ironside gets to repeat his cold-hearted bad guy routine once again.