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Cast: John Bianco, Joe Esposito, Ernest Mingione, Lou Albano
Four friends get mixed up in a diamond heist gone bad and now have the Mob and cops on your tail. They soon find out that trust, allegiance and love don't mean a thing when there's money on the line.
"Hot Ice" is an Indie action/thriller about four friends who stumble upon a diamond heist gone bad and when the smoke clears the ice is theirs for the taking. After having a few second thoughts the do decide to take the diamonds and sell them off as quickly as possible. With 3 million dollars in diamonds are four men see a better life ahead of them but what they don't know is they're going to have to deal with the Mob that wants their property back, police who are closing in and a few women who may or may not be worth trusting. The one thing this kind of money does to people is change their behavior and each man will find out who can be trusted and who can't as well as having to take a look at themselves as well.
"Hot Ice" was done on a very small budget and the production shows it. Luckily there's a pretty decent story here and a nice mix of characters to keep you engaged plus the story does offer a few twists and turns along the way to keep you interested to the very end.
The acting in the film is a mixed bag, most of the leads including John Bianco and Joe Esposito give believable performances plus the film has the legendary Lou Albano as Frankie the Hat, I thought that was very cool. John Bianco also wrote and directed the film as well and considering what he had to work with here I thought he did a pretty good job, the film is by no means great but it's an enjoyable story that grows on you as it moves along. The story and a few of the performances more than made up for the film's obvious flaws.
If you like the genre and enjoy watching Indie films then I suggest giving it a shot, I wasn't so sure when the film began but as it went along and as the story grew and as I got to know the characters better the more invested I became. Bianco keeps things moving a nice clip and I liked how the film was finished off as well.
"Hot Ice" is available now on DVD and you can order HERE.
Like I said the film isn't going to win any major awards but for what it is I thought it was entertaining enough.
Released by Maverick Entertainment
** 1/2 Out Of *****