''Iceman'' is a 2014

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

action-comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

directed by

Law Wing-cheung Law Wing-Cheong (born 26 June 1966), also known as Vincent Lo, is a Hong Kong film editor, an assistant director, film director, and actor. He is best known for collaborating as an associate director for films made by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fa ...

and starring

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

, who also serves as the film's

action director Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet pr ...

. The film is a remake of the 1989 film ''The Iceman Cometh'' which was directed by

Clarence Fok Clarence Fok Yiu-leung (霍耀良) is a Hong Kong film director and actor from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is perhaps best known for directing the international cult classic ''Naked Killer'' (1992). He was once asked by producer Mario Kassar t ...

and starred

Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one of t ...

. The film was released in Hong Kong and China on April 25, 2014.

Plot

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

officer, He Ying, was tasked with bringing a mythical time traveling device from India with a LINGA back to the Ming emperor. He was betrayed, and subsequently frozen. He Ying, Sao and Niehu were frozen during a fight. They were discovered and put in cryo-stasis pods and transferred to modern-day

. During transit, an accident sets them free. The three escape into the city. Niehu and Sao are set on exacting revenge on He Ying, despite not understanding the world they are in. He Ying soon befriends May, who takes advantage of his confusion about the modern world by charging him exorbitant amount of money for rent, food, and so on. Niehu and Sao unknowingly help two Indian mobsters escape the police, and as a result join the Indian mob. It is revealed that Cheung is looking for the trio, in particular He Ying. Through various flashbacks, it is revealed that all four were blood brothers who fought side by side, before He Ying was betrayed and charged with treason. After several encounters in the modern world including meeting May's mother, fleeing custody of the police (using his master martial arts skills), and the use of technology, He Ying starts to figure out who is ultimately hunting down Cheung.

Cast

Production

Filming for ''Iceman'' began on December 19, 2012 in Hong Kong. Originally produced at a budget of HK$100 million, the production soared up to Hong Kong $200 million due to its slow-paced filming and to cover the film crew's insurance. Because the Hong Kong government did not approve the film to shoot at the

Tsing Ma Bridge Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong. It is the world's 16th-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion. The bridge was named after the two islands it connects, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan. It has two ...

, an addition of Hong Kong $50 million was spent in order to build an imitation set of the Tsing Ma Bridge. Lead actor and action director

said that a seven-minute fight scene took ten days to shoot. Besides Hong Kong, a chunk of the film would also be filmed in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. For a car chase scene, actor

Julian Cheung Julian Cheung Chi-lam (born 27 August 1971), better known by his stage name Chilam, is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Cheung is popularly known for his role as Guo Jing in the 1994 TV series adaptation of the ''Wuxia'' novel, ''The Legend of ...

also loaned his black

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

to the production. Filming locations include Hong Kong's defunct

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...

and the

Changbai Mountains The Changbai Mountains (simplified Chinese:长白山; traditional Chinese:長白山) are a major mountain range in Northeast Asia that extends from the Northeast Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, across the border between ...

Music

Jam Hsiao Jam Hsiao Ching-Teng (, born 30 March 1987) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. At the age of 17, while still in high school, he began working as a restaurant singer. In May 2007, Hsiao took part in the first season of China Television (CTV)'s sta ...

was handpicked by Donnie Yen for the Mandarin theme song. The Cantonese version was performed by Hong Kong singer and actor

Reception

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' writes "Plagued by all manner of production snafus and a ballooning budget, the problems show in the final product. ''Iceman'' is a fractured and often baffling martial 'epic' that not even popular star Donnie Yen is likely to be able to save." ''

Screendaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' writes the film is "beset by multiple problems, from a patchy incoherent script, to jarring shifts in tone and genre, and sub-par action and effects sequences that even the star presence of Donnie Yen may find hard to reconcile." Donnie Yen's performance won him the Golden Broom Award for Worst Actor.

References

External links

* {{Law Wing-cheung 2014 3D films 2014 films 2014 martial arts films 2010s martial arts comedy films 2010s Cantonese-language films 2010s Mandarin-language films Chinese 3D films Chinese martial arts comedy films Chinese action comedy films Remakes of Hong Kong films Films directed by Law Wing-cheung Films set in Hong Kong Films set in the Ming dynasty Films shot in Beijing Films shot in Hong Kong Films about time travel Hong Kong 3D films Hong Kong action comedy films Kung fu films Hong Kong martial arts comedy films 2014 comedy films 2010s Hong Kong films