Iceman (2014)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Absolutely Fantastic

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

"Iceman" is a movie that doesn't make sense at all, and it doesn't even seem to be trying. It feels like a couple of friends got drunk together and decided to mix some scenes from the garbage bin where bad ideas go to rest.The story seems to be a fantasy action comedy, but please, someone explain what all means. Donnie Yen's Ho Ying wakes up after 400 years and decides to go to the toilet and then run away, crash a party of young people and make a friendship with a young woman called May. At the same time, a couple of his classmates from the army have also woken up and are trying to find him, because they believe he betrayed them. Also a very shady Simon Yam (what else could he be playing?) is trying to catch all three of them and will do anything to do so. Why? It doesn't really matter because the movie isn't even trying. The direction is lifeless, the plot all over the wall, the ceiling, the floor and somewhere else, and the acting is all kinds of over-the-top-really-we-don't-know-what-acting-means variety. If that wasn't enough, the action is lame, the CGI sub-par and the comedy goes for the not-even-on-the-level-of-juvenile kind of. Oh, and Donnie Yen seems to be half- asleep all movie through. Did this idea make sense in the scriptwriters' heads? One has to wonder, because on the screen... nope, not at all."Iceman" is horrible on all levels. An incredible, horrible mess.

Judging from the cover I thought this was a period piece Martial Arts movie. But it does play in the modern times (that's in the 21st century). It might be convoluted and not good in its appeal to tell a story, but it does have Donnie Yen in it. And while he has done some way better movies (just the IP Man trilogy alone, but many more of course), he's always a pleasure to watch (fight).Sometimes the comedy does work, though it's very plain to put it mildly. But while this isn't a masterpiece by any means, there have been worse movies. And I've seen a couple of them too. So this is entertaining to a degree, but if you don't watch too many movies, you may wanna skip this

Donnie Yen is in my opinion the best martial arts movie-star out there right now, especially since Jackie Chan and Jet Li have slowed down and Tony Jaa is only just now getting off to a shaky start with the poorly reviewed Tom Yum Goong 2. That being said, it's a major disappointment that Donnie Yen's latest, "Iceman", is a miss for the now middle aged (not that you can tell) martial arts master. Iceman is directionless, confusing, poorly paced, and makes very poor use of Donnie Yen's truly impressive and astonishing martial arts skills. The script is a fish out of water/man out of his time type story, that we've seen before, with nothing new to offer. Some other reviewers have drawn comparisons between this and the Marvel Comics character Captain America, and I can assure the only similarity is that both are frozen men who wake up in different time periods. Rip Van Winkle is the same story but is that also similar?No, Iceman is in a league of it's own poor storytelling, a remake of a previous film with the same premise from the 80's, this rehash has totally juvenile humour that always misses it's mark, a contrived love story, and a main character capable of ridiculous things with little to no explanation. Captain America is at least explained to have a DNA altering serum in his body, learning Kung Fu doesn't make you superhuman. They don't even make good use of the fish-out-of-water story and Yen's character adjusts to modern times with ridiculous ease and little incident. Granted, some of the humor may have been lost in translation for me, however I'll say that other foreign comedies, like those of the great Stephen Chow, are always great for a laugh in my book. Absolutely don't go into this thinking you'll see Donnie Yen kick any kind of butt in major degree, the few fight scenes this movie does have are poorly constructed, filled with bad CGI, and nothing new or close to his potential. Iceman is like the ice-age altogether, worth avoiding.

Wing-cheong Law directed "Iceman" is a blended fantasy/sci-fi film that plays heavily on the classic Hong Kong action/fight set-up. The story takes on the cryogenic tech concept by having ancestors of almost godly stature and brings them to the 21st century in a light- hearted, cut-n-copy style that Hong Kong cinema is famous for. I love the theatrics of Asian cinema. Maybe it is because, due to subtitles, I place my focus on emotion, body language and facial reactions. I skim read the subtitled dialog-often times the translation is brutal."Iceman" has a fun, and yet intense story that begs for cool fight sequences choreographed flawlessly. I didn't totally get the grandeur that surrounds these figures-who obviously have mastered the teachings so well they have transcended into "godhood". However the scenes are so strong, with a balance of melodrama, humor and action. The story does capitalize on the expected components that make up modern action films from China, it almost mirrors the set up of Japanese anime series. The characters, although a bit cliché, offer a collection of comic relief, romantic interlude, and tons of dramatic inflection. All in a blended cultures piece that brings the past into the present. The special effects and sound in "Iceman" are standard blends of CGI heavy sequences and choreographed fight stuff. I have learned that Asian cinema is one area where tolerance of CGI is just mandated in order to get into films from this market. It is okay as long as enough practical effects are added to balance it out. Which in "Iceman" actually works to do just that. Everything about the various techniques used add to the melodrama and excitement. The soundtrack and sound effects are standard mill stuff so that was a bummer. Most was instrumental melodies that felt familiar. It works but it does real propel the story to that extra level of suspense or thrills. Overall "Iceman" is a decent action/fantasy film with plenty of fights and drama. I am not sure if it is truly a strong piece because some of the material didn't connect with me personally. I enjoyed watching this film but I have seen better films similar to this one come out of Hong Kong. Still the cinematography and production value is stellar. The flat areas for me are the humanizing scenes of character relationship/ dialog interaction moments that are intended to build up the characters so that they more personable dimension, but really just creates drag on the action and thrills a bit too much. Again – I liked "Iceman" but I am not sure if it will be strong enough for the die-hard Asian cinema fan.