ICEMAN (冰封: 重生之门) (2014)




SYNOPSIS: In 2013 funded by a mysterious financier, Squire Tang digs up three ancient icemen from the outskirt of China. They are Ying, Niehu, & Sao. He transports the icemen to Hong Kong for further study but the vehicle involves in a traffic accident which unexpectedly defrosts Ying. Travelling 400 years in time to modern Hong Kong, Ying meets wasted May on Halloween by chance, who gives him shelter. With intelligence and hard work, Ying soon grasps the idea of modern society with the help of the internet. Living under the same roof, Ying & May gradually fall for each other. At the same time, he never forgets the injustice that frames him and seeks to correct history using the Golden Wheel of Time...

MOVIE REVIEW:

A remake of the superior time-travelling action flick, Iceman Cometh which stars Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah and Maggie Cheung, this updated version starring the in-demand Donnie Yen is not only one of the worst movies of 2014 but also ranked as Yen’s most spectacular dud. And we guarantee it’s a rather loud one.

Iceman in general retains the outline of the original which has a decorated Ming dynasty warrior being defrost in modern day Hong Kong, falls in love with a nightclub hostess along the way and also involving an ancient time travelling device. However, this latest version helmed by Johnnie To’s frequent collaborator Law Wing Cheong (Punished) unnecessarily complicates matters by introducing too much characters and a convoluted plot that probably works well for a Milkyway production that doesn’t stars Donnie Yen.

The story goes something liked this: Ming bodyguard He Ying (Yen) after framed for collaborating with the Japanese attempts to clear his name in cosmopolitan Hong Kong though his once blood brothers Sao (Wang Baoqiang) and Niehu (Yu Kang) believes he’s responsible for a heinous crime and are still after his blood. In the meantime, a corrupt police commissioner Cheung (Simon Yam) and a corrupt politician played by Lam Suet are also interested in the whereabouts of Ying. 

Without further elaborating on the embarrassing development, Law instead of relying on his action choreographer and star, Yen to come up with some terrific action sequences and stunts is more interested in hooky 3D effects, lame jokes (a repetitive one that make fun of curry chicken spaghetti and even the penis of a God is not spared in the process) even lamer CGI to fill his two-parter martial arts epic. The greatly touted, budget busting Tsing Ma bridge action finale also failed to showcase Yen’s extraordinary kung fu moves in the end.

Perhaps Iceman needs a stronger opponent for Donnie Yen and Wang Baoqiang obviously is sorely miscast as the flick’s antagonist or perhaps it’s the incoherent scripting that sunk the entire movie. We doubt part two will solve all the mysteries and plot holes but there’s always hope. In the meantime, we recommend you checkout the 1989’s The Iceman Cometh, the fights and death-defying stunts by Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah already deserve the price of a bluray. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The DVD contains Mandarin and Cantonese dual tracks and the visual is good enough to be played on a huge TV set. 

MOVIE RATING:


DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee
 



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 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Action
Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Eva Huang, Wang Baoqiang, Yu Kang, Hoi-Pang Lo, Mark Wu, Gregory Wong, Yang Jian-ping, Jacqueline Chong, Sukie Shek, Ava Liu
Director: Law Wing Cheong
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Year Made: 2014

 SPECIAL FEATURES

- NIL

 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: Mandarin/Cantonese
Subtitles: English/Chinese
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
Running Time:  1 hr 45 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Scorpio East Entertainment