Review - Iceman (2014)

Iceman (2014)

Director: Wing-cheong Law

Starring: Donnie Yen

Iceman is a highly stylized action movie with an overly rushed plot topped off with some toilet humor.

Iceman takes place in Hong Kong where our long-frozen hero, He Ying (Donnie Yen), is woken up in modern day China after having been framed for treason by his three closest friends and getting buried in ice for 400 years.

Storyline exists, technically, but it's so rushed that I had a lot of trouble following it. It was able to pick it up better the second time around, though. The story is told is chunks of flashbacks throughout the movie, but the chunks come after the fact. So I was left confused until the flashback, and was still confused after the flashback. It creates for a jarring experience. The movie is so fast-paced that I felt exhausted watching it. The story is told in such a way that I feel like I missed something every time I watch it and there were plenty of moments where I was confused as to why things were happening. Ultimately, I still feel like I don't fully understand the story.

The character development was equally poor. I didn't even notice the lead female's name the first time through. I actually didn't notice it the second time through until I forced myself to listen for it (her name is May). It's only used a few times in the entire movie. Other than her name, we only know a few things about her. She has a mom in a nursing home and she likes to drink a lot. That's not much of a character. The other characters were even less developed and I don't care about a single one of them. In fact, I can't even remember the names of any of the characters other than He Ying. This includes the antagonists.

Where this movie really shines is in the action. This is a highly stylized movie and I really enjoyed watching it. The action is fast-paced and cool to watch. The high-flying kung fu action synthesized with a Hong Kong nightlife vibe makes for an entertaining action movie. The style also gives me the feeling that it would be the perfect movie to watch with the guys: the plot is so irrelevant to the enjoyment of this movie that you can talk and laugh with your friends and not worry about missing anything. In fact, I don't think there's anything I could say that would actually spoil the story for you. That's how irrelevant the plot is.

I mentioned earlier that the movie has some toilet humor. The movie opens with Donnie Yen taking a mighty piss (seriously long range) for no good reason. It kinda sets the tone for the movie. There's also a scene later on where a toilet explodes, showering the bad guys with poop. Keep in mind, this movie was made for 3D, so all of this stuff looks like it's flying in your face. On a less disgusting note, we also get some hilarious uses of English in this movie. “Spaghetti chicken curry” still makes me laugh. The way the character says it is just perfect.

Do I recommend this movie? Yes, but with caution. If you're big on story, you're not going to like this movie. The only thing this movie has to offer is a visually appealing experience unless you're watching in 3D—no one wants to see 3D Donnie Yen pissing in their face. If you're interested in this movie, please click the link below to buy it on Blu-Ray

Iceman (2014) [Blu-ray]