I suspect that the makers of this movie were inspired not only by the 1984 Hollywood movie "Iceman" (not just by the title), but also the 1984 Hollywood movie "Ghost Warrior", which also involved an ancient Asian warrior frozen and thawed in modern times. Well, come to think of it, the core ideas of those movies had been done before many time in other movies and media, so it doesn't seem fair to just point a plagiarism finger at the makers of this movie. As for this retelling of the formula, it does have some merit. It looks pretty well produced, and there are some exciting action sequences here and there, particularly the climatic sequence. However, the movie can't decide whether it's a comic telling or a serious telling of the formula - it keeps wavering back and forth between the two extremes, and the Asian style of humor may bewilder western audiences not familiar with this style. But the real problem with the movie is that it is EXTREMELY confusing. There is very often a lack of explanation as to what is going on and why. It seems like key scenes and linking footage are missing or were never filmed in the first place, even though the movie as it is is 104 minutes long. Although the movie is never boring, the narrative is so confusing that in short notice you stop caring about the characters and the story. Too bad.

I have always had a fascination with fantastical time travel scenarios, where someone from the past is thrust into the present, inevitably resulting in action sequences where ancient weapons and skills are matched by modern technology. Greatly dissimilar to other features, Iceman (not to be mistaken for The Iceman) could have potentially taken an approach comparative to the film Highlander, a number of the narrative's decisions failing to effectively work.Donnie Yen portrays Ying, an honorable soldier in the Emperor's army during the Ming Dynasty. Tasked with acquiring an ancient artifact, with the capacity to travel through time, he is framed for murder and treason, during which he, and his adversaries, are trapped beneath an avalanche of snow. Miraculously, Ying is awoken in the twenty first century from prolonged hibernation, caused by this event. An explanation regarding this is never provided, however, it is at the same time unnecessary, the film's pace relying more on action, than on rationalization.Ying finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy that includes a number of powerful individuals, their involvement, and the lengths of its influence, never been entirely fleshed out. Unfortunately, Ying is not the only soldier awoken, with his adversaries prowling the streets as well, in the hopes of not only acquiring the legendary artifact, but on obtaining their long sought revenge. The skills of these ruthlessly trained soldiers of old are impressive, none in the twenty first century having the ability to match their strength. At the same time though, the action sequences are potentially not as frequent as you might imagine. Though short lived, the action scenes offer the viewer some outstanding imagery that is as entertaining as it is well executed.During his initial few hours of awakening, Ying bumps into May (Shengyi Huang), who, in a drunken stupor, unwittingly invites him into her life. The misadventures Ying encounters while attempting to adjust to the new world with May, alongside the personal problems she is dealing with, offers the film both drama and heart, not to mention its most beautiful feature. Ms. Huang's performance generates a vulnerable character, as intelligent as she is uncertain, and as beautiful as she is in need of saving, though she does prove herself to be a very capable young woman. The friendship, trust and feelings generated between these two characters makes for an impressive story in itself, though at times, this exceptional subplot is lost between the film's attempts at humor.Although Iceman is, categorically, an action film, the combined humor refuses to cooperate with the seriousness of the plot, and therefore causes a number of conversations and stereotypical slapstick moments to feel dramatically out of place. There's a moment when Ying produces explosive feces, and another occasion when he's flatulent in an elevator, and let's not forget the crude humor surrounding a certain part of the male anatomy. Strangely enough, a number of these latter references are logically incorporated, although why the filmmakers didn't attempt to use references that were not quite as peculiarly vulgar, is unknown. This illogical immaturity is irresponsibly childish in a film clearly directed towards older audiences.Lastly, the final moments of Iceman prove to be as stirring as they are eye catching, and though no conclusion is offered, this climatic finish will definitely leave you on the edge of your seat. By the time the film comes to a close however, is it too late to reel in viewers for further adventures? Here's hoping the potential sequels focus more on drama and action, rather than on, what can only be described as, painfully obtuse humor.

Honestly, I was tricked by the previous review hence i thought the movie was really bad and I went into the theater with zero expectations. But the results... were simply. Amazing. Another classic Chinese martial arts movie which will continue to be remembered for generations to come.This movie is not your typical Donnie Yen ass-kicking movie, this is a movie with a lot of feelings, touching yet Comedic. The whole cinema was laughing every few minutes and the actions were impeccable. The last fight scene is easily one of the best action scenes in the past 3 - 4 years of Movies.Donnie Yen has to pretend to be a Ming Dynasty warrior trying to fit into our 21st century, but obviously he is way too powerful physically and has to learn the ropes of adapting, and this has led to many funny moments throughout the movie. The ending in particular was very exciting, and then..boom, something unexpected happens, a plot twist and it becomes really touching where I can see people in the audience tearing.Definitely a must watch!Note: There is a part 2 coming out in October!

Let us begin by setting the record straight. We are big Donnie Yen fans. Even before he became a household name with 'Ip Man', we admired the kung fu star for his uniquely thrilling moves in 'SPL'. Still, even his most loyal fans will probably be wondering just why he has appeared in one bad movie after another in recent times. Indeed, his last good one was Peter Chan's 'Wu Xia' back in 2012; since then, 'Together', 'Special ID' and 'The Monkey King' have not only been bad movies, at least the first two have approached the point of being unwatchable, which is something we'd thought we'd never say about a Donnie Yen film.'Iceman' could very well have been that turning point in Yen's string of duds. Its source material was Clarence Fok's 1989 martial arts fantasy 'The Iceman Cometh', an entertaining blend of action, comedy, romance and period drama starring Yuen Biao, Maggie Cheung and Yuen Wah. Its budget is an eye-popping HK$200 million dollars. And even before its release, there has been much hype about a climactic sequence set on Hong Kong's iconic Tsing Ma Bridge which cost an additional HK$50 million dollars to film because the authorities wouldn't give the filmmakers permission to do so on location. In essence, this Captain America of the East was supposed to be big-budget action blockbuster spectacle, weighty enough to warrant a two-parter release not unlike 'Red Cliff'.Yet after all that hype, 'Iceman' is worse than 'The Monkey King' and almost as bad as 'Special ID'. Much of that has to do with the tonally incoherent plot by Lam Fung which manages to be overplotted and dramatically undernourished at the same time. Working upon the original's concept of a Ming Dynasty warrior who awakens 400 years later to find himself in modern-day Hong Kong and continue a feud that began as far back, Lam throws in multiple subplots criss-crossing present and past. There is Yen's search for a time-travelling Golden Wheel of Time that is operated by a key called the Linga. There is a corrupt Police Commissioner (Simon Yam) bent on recovering Yen and his fellow frozen guards to apparently sell them to the North Koreans. And last but not least, there is Yen's budding romance with a nightclub hostess (Eva Huang), who is caring for her sickly mother in an expensive old folks' home.The combination of so many disparate parts makes for an extremely disjointed whole, and it doesn't help that director Law Wing Cheong seems entirely overwhelmed at maintaining some semblance of coherence. His storytelling lurches backwards and forwards across time with little narrative flow or momentum - and what makes it worse is just how tonally jarring the shifts are, from comedy to romance to period fantasy and then to surprisingly graphic action. Law also seems to have gone way out of his league from the Johnnie To-like rom-coms ('2 Become 1' and 'Hooked on You') and crime dramas ('Punished') to large-scale blockbuster territory - notwithstanding his little-seen 'The Wrath of Vajra' last year - and simply lost his footing even on the very basic level of staging a compelling enough sequence.The same could be said of lead star and action director Donnie Yen. Even when everything else was a letdown, the very marquee name of Yen promised that at least the action would not disappoint; alas not even in that regard does 'Iceman' count for anything. Save for the much touted finale on the Tsing Ma bridge, the rest of the action sequences here seem almost like an afterthought, too reliant on the kind of unrealistic wirework that B-grade properties oft relied on. And when we finally end up on the bridge, Yen becomes too obsessed with making this a 3D movie by hurling all sorts of weaponry towards his audience that it just becomes too gimmicky to take seriously. It is scant compensation for the seemingly interminable one half hour wait, and ultimately disappointing because neither Wang Baoqiang nor Kang Yu as his nemeses are anywhere near close to being Yen's worthy on screen opponents.There are occasional pleasures though, and these often occur at times when the movie simply refuses to take itself seriously. We're not denying that these slapstick moments will be utterly cringe-worthy to many, but hey we take what we can get. For instance, we laughed when Yen first bursts out of his cryogenic tomb and then releases his urine like a water cannon. Ditto for his favourite catchphrase literally translated as 'your mother's breasts' in Chinese. Or how about when Wang and Yu start learning words like 'chicken curry spaghetti' from a gang of Indian grifters after saving them from the cops? There are also other fish-out-of-water comedic moments that border or belong in cheese, but that's the only kind of entertainment you're going to get out of 'Iceman'.If you're going to try to enjoy 'Iceman' therefore, it's important to set your expectations just right. Don't go in expecting the kind of popcorn blockbuster that 'Captain America' ever was, for Chinese cinema has yet to produce a modern-day superhero movie that didn't suck (think Benny Chan's 'City Under Siege'). Don't go in expecting the kind of good old-fashioned martial arts action Donnie Yen presented in 'Ip Man' or the kind of gritty MMA fighting in 'SPL' or 'Special ID', for there is nothing but a gimmicky 3D sequence right at the end that matters at all. And don't go in expecting this to be any better than Yen's recent batch of movies, for this is just one more in a bad streak that we hope will be frozen forever in time.