One of my all time favorites.

Admirable film.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Thin Ice is the fifth Jesse Stone film, and the first that didn't come directly from one of Robert Parker's novels. Parker didn't write this one, but Thin Ice is still every bit as gripping and mysterious as the other Stone stories. Since becoming the police chief in Paradise, Massachusetts, Stone has injected himself into local business and politics, discovering a lot of corruption, and a connection to organized crime. He's done a tremendous job, but the town council is very upset with him. All these arrests and headlines have put Paradise on the front page, and it has taken it's toll on the towns main source of income, tourism. The town council tells Stone he has to tone it down or risk losing his job. In typical fashion he response by telling them, "you can fire me, but you can't tell me what to do." An upset Stone, heads to Boston to have dinner with his friend, the state homicide commander, when a mysterious shooter tries to take them both out. Now Stone is in the middle of another headline grabbing investigation that's become personal. As always Tom Selleck is terrific and pairing him Picket Fences' Kathy Baker has only made the film series that much more enjoyable for me. Every film has two mysteries that feature Stone right in the middle of the action. Thin Ice being written by a different person, shows Stone as edgier and more sarcastic, something that was interesting to see. I've read most of the novels and know the character of Jesse Stone very well, and to see him exhibit different personality traits, in an extreme situation, really was a treat for me. If you're not familiar with Jesse Stone, you should take the time to do so. He is one of the most complex characters I have ever come across and he's played by the absolute perfect choice, Tom Selleck. The man has been playing a cop for nearly 40 years and has learned a thing or two about what it takes to lead audiences through an investigation. Thin Ice was definitely a change in direction, but it works, as even in it's fifth installment, Jesse Stone is still every bit as good as it ever was.

Tom Selleck's Jess Stone is more serious and wounded here especially as he has been shot and Captain Healy ends up in hospital when they are shot at in a stakeout.The main plot is trying to find the shooter while he is fending off Paradise town council, ends up romancing the Internal Affairs investigator who is supposed to be enquiring about him and not bedding him.There is a sub plot involving the disappearance of a baby boy some years earlier as his mother gets strange letters. I found this television movie to be better than Sea Change, more involving but although our hero is damaged I do find that both he and some of his colleagues are hyper efficient in their investigations. Sometimes the clues just fall into their laps.

I understood this movie much more when I learned that this was the first episode in the series that was not based on a book. It seems the writers were not allowed to create new scenes or dialog and were forced to cut and paste from the previous movies. how many cop/donut jokes can be straight armed out the screen before an intelligent audience starts to feel abused? How many "pals that have sex" can one over the hill emotionally detached has-been hook up with? And how many people over the age of 6 use the word "pal?" And really, has anyone looked up the definition of alcoholic? Two drinks per night for a 200lb adult male is not alcoholism, it's good for your heart. I doubt he could even get a buzz off that.Others have reviewed this series saying it is sparse and hard hitting. I more or less agree in respect to the first several installments, but not this one. It was boring, predictable, repetitive and lacking in drive. I don't blame the actors. It seems they did their best with a cut and paste script.The only reasons I can think that this movie would be worth watching is if you were wholeheartedly committed to the series, rented it for free from the library, or you were uncontrollably hot for Sir Tom.

While I do agree with this being the least of the series, I enjoyed the episode. However, my wife (who would leave me for Tom if he asked, I'm not kidding) didn't like it.As an example of our tastes, I loved Clint Eastwoods "Unforgiven" because the distinction between bad and good wasn't clear. My wife did not like "Unforgiven" because the distinction between bad and good wasn't clear.I think the story line was needed or the series would have fallen way to far into a formula driven format. That's why I think it would destroy the series if it was a week to week show. This episode must set up at least one or two more stories.I look forward to them.