In 1909 the Alabama expedition led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) set out to explore the north east corner of Greenland. Mikkelsen and his ships mechanic Iver Iversen (Joe Cole) who had never been on an arctic expedition before would find themselves stranded and battling against the elements in a fight for survival. 

Based on a true story and adapted from the book by the real Ejnar Mikkelsen called “Two Against The Ice” this film has all the elements (pun intended) to be a gripping drama. Unfortunately it is anything but. In fact my main takeaway from the film is it intrigued me enough to read about the expeditions it is based on. 

Prior to the Alabama expedition was the Denmark expedition. Both had the goal of exploring Greenland to confirm or deny the existence of something called The Peary Channel. Named after an American explorer, Robert E. Peary who claimed there was a water channel that separated the north land mass of Greenland from the south and that therefore the Americans could claim it for their own. Three members of the Denmark expedition perished in their search and the Alabama expedition set out to find their journals and maps. 

Whilst Against The Ice really gets into the hardships and nitty gritty of what explorers faced in the Arctic it never really generates any excitement or thrills. Overall the pacing and drama is incredibly pedestrian with the biggest drama being about the writing of a note and the loss of some huskies. Even Coster-Waldau, who co-wrote and produced the film struggles to give the lead character anything to really hang on to as an interesting character. 

A pedestrian and middle of the road true life survival story that could have been so much more.