I saw Arctic...

I had hoped that after viewing Netflix's "Polar", starring the amazing Mads Mikkelsen, I'd be treated to another tough-as-nails entry from the versatile actor: director Joe Penna's "Arctic", to be precise. Alas, "Arctic" never came to my neighboring cinemas, leaving me a big-time Johnny-come-lately in its wake. Well, I might have been tardy, but I've at least emerged satisfied, albeit chilled to the survivalist bone in having experienced it.  

"Arctic" is terrifying, though not in the way of a horror film, any more than it mirrors traditional, adventure tales. All the same, it rivals the most intense aspects of those edge-of-the-seat entertainments, so that ardent fans of those genres are certain to leave the picture pleased.  

Mikkelsen's H. Overgard is the practical, plane-crashed protagonist, who braves the Arctic while nurturing Maria Thelma Smaradottir's broken "young woman", who fell into Overgard's vicinity per a separate crash. How's that for get-outta-town odds?

There isn't much character development in Penna and Ryan Morrison's script. There needn't be, since the leads project profound pain and earn great sympathy through their expressions. In other words, they persuade one to become indivisible with their predicament. That's all that matters while the story plays.

Tomas Orn Tomasson's cinematography clinches the tension, capturing the Arctic's surreal stretch. (Some scenes invoke "Robinson Crusoe on Mars", though sprayed evil white.) The terrain, therefore, is as much a character as its leads: a metaphoric monster impervious to defeat. ("Thing from Another World"--slide aside! Besides, an angry polar bear will always stage a greater threat than any feigned extra-terrestrial.)

For those who appreciate films like "Apocalypto"; "The Revenant"; "The Naked Prey"; "Man in the Wilderness"; "Man from Deep River"; "Jungle Holocaust"; "Alive"; and "Survive", "Arctic" is certain to match and exceed them. 

This exploit was created for durable people who believe that, no matter how harrowing the situation, there's always a reason to live; and if death should strike during the ordeal, at least one can die knowing one tried. Either route is respectable, whether one is flanked by ominous ice or those challenging corridors of everyday life. On this basis, "Arctic" is worthy of its righteous reminder and allegorical plight.