The Iceman Cometh (1989)

Best movie ever!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This is a fantasy action film from Hong Kong, starring Yuen Biao as Ming Dynasty royal guard named Fong Sau-Ching, who got frozen in time after a fierce battle with the evil Fung San (Yuen Wah). After many years, both Fong and Fung have been thawed out in modern Hong Kong, where they continue their battle.This movie is chock full of martial arts action, from Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah duking it out in the Ming Dynasty to modern day Hong Kong. It's really smashing and edge-of-your-seat excitement seeing these two martial arts greats do their amazing stunt work.Caught in the middle of the centuries-old duel is call girl Polla (Maggie Cheung), who takes in Fong at her home. Seeing Fong try to assimilate and adjust living life in the modern day was pretty hilarious. But, much of the comic relief came from Maggie Cheung, who gave a rather dramatic but sassy performance at the same time. There were some touching chemistry between the two as well.Yuen Wah as the villain offers up some dark moments in the film as well, being a merciless attacker and all-around bad guy - somebody you would love to root against. I do think, though, that Wah's character was overkill and over dramatic at times.Rounding up the cast of characters are cameo appearances from a host of Hong Kong actors, from Elvina Kong to Elvis Tsui, and from Stanley Fung to Corey Yuen. Fun stuff here! Grade A-

The movie had elements of Highlander and Les Visiteurs and some other time travel type movies, like Demolition Man (though this movie precedes Demolition Man). It is about two warriors from the Ming Dynasty. One is a psychotic killer while the other is an honourable royal guard who has to arrest the killer in twenty days or be executed himself. He chases the killer to Buddha's time wheel, originally designed to force Evil to experience a hundred life times, but used now to escape into the future. They meet, fight, and fall of a cliff and are frozen in ice only to be revived in the 20th Century.This movie goes through all of the stages of culture shock in regards to time travel. Cars being monsters, television, and the old toilet and light switch jokes, which were performed heaps better in Les Visiteurs, but then Les Visiteurs was purely a comedy movie while this movie is more of a typical Hong-Kong action comedy. Then comes the shock of the changes, the Ming Dynasty has collapsed and everything has changed. Women has risen in status to a point where, as Ching is convinced, men are subservient. Then there is the bad guy who fits in with society reasonably well, except that he goes for pearls instead of Rolex watches.I enjoyed it, as generally I like Hong Kong movies. There is little in the way of in-depth themes, or none that I can draw out of it (unlike John Woo films). There is the struggle of Ching to come to terms with the collapse of his empire, but this is something that we don't face, or not on his level. Yes, we find that at times our life simply collapses to a point where everything has changed, but I don't think The Iceman Cometh is design to provoke such thoughts. I think this movie is purely designed to entertain with martial arts extravaganzas. Woo seems to deal more with interweaving thought into his films, especially with the Killer, but we never really see Woo films on SBS. This is a good movie and would watch it again.

Most fans of martial arts films can never understand why Yuen Biao somehow never made the big time like Jackie Chan or Jet Li. He came from the same background had a boyish charisma and charm shown to great effect in this film. His athletic abilities are legendary and the fights here show he had real martial arts abilities. This film has genuine comic moments and to my mind Maggie Cheung gives one of her best ever performances as the hooker /model with a heart of gold. Wah Yuen is a great evil brother and the final fight is surely one of the best recorded. OK the effects are fairly poor even for 1989 but the stunts are terrific. My Hong Kong Legends has good interviews with Yuen (where he shows the snow burns he got making this film) and Wah and a very clear print. An underrated film from an underrated artist.

WOW!!! This movie is incredible. It has two of the most underrated martial artists. They are Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah. When these two go head to head...everything breaks lose. Do not let the title fool you. This has a bit comedy and alot of martial arts combat. Two opponents (once friends) travel across time from the Ming Dynasty to modern (1987) Hong Kong. Most of the film focuses on Yuen Biao and the ever beautiful Maggie Cheung. When we see how bad guy Yuen Wah has adapted to modern day tools of murder and mayhem...the fists and feet fly. I don't want to give away too much of the plot. However, the time travel device is a Buddhist "wheel" that when a Black Buddah is inserted as the key...time travel is possible. The end fight between Yuen and Yuen is one to see. Check it out.